Remembering Claude Guillemot, Ubisoft Co-Founder

Claude Guillemot, co-founder of Ubisoft and Chairman of Guillemot Corporation, died Friday afternoon when a light aircraft crashed in a field near La Baule, France. Loire-Atlantique firefighters confirmed two fatalities at the scene. According to Ouest-France, Guillemot was one of the two victims.

The mayor of La Baule, Franck Louvrier, told Ici Loire Océan that the aircraft was a Cessna 421 – a twin-engine propeller plane with eight seats – which had departed from Rennes. Firefighters arriving at the scene found the aircraft on fire, with flames spreading into the surrounding vegetation. The other passenger is believed to have been a flight instructor from Rennes. Guillemot, a member of the La Baule flying club, had been expected in the town this weekend for a gathering of more than a hundred aircraft.

Remembering Claude Guillemot

Claude Guillemot was one of five brothers – alongside Yves, Michel, Gérard, and Christian – who founded Ubisoft Entertainment on March 28, 1986, building it from a small computer hardware distribution business into one of the largest video game publishers in the world. He served as Executive Vice-President in charge of operations on Ubisoft's board, and his operational expertise was a significant part of the company's expansion across consoles, PC, mobile, and online platforms over the decades that followed.

While his brother Yves became the public face of the company as CEO, Claude was widely regarded as one of the quieter, behind-the-scenes anchors of the family's business.

Two years before founding Ubisoft, in 1984, the brothers established Guillemot Informatique – a mail-order business selling computer hardware and software, born out of the family's earlier agricultural supply business in Brittany. That company would later become Guillemot Corporation, which Claude served as Chairman and CEO of for most of its existence, growing it into a leading name in gaming accessories and digital audio through the Thrustmaster and Hercules brands, with a presence in more than 140 countries.

In June 2025, the board separated the Chairman and CEO roles, with Guillemot continuing as Chairman while Valentin Guillemot – who had been with the group since 2022 – stepped into the CEO position. The brothers also founded Gameloft together in 2000, extending the family's reach into mobile gaming.

Beyond the corporate side of his career, Guillemot remained deeply tied to his home region. He served for years as Chairman of Le Club des Trente, a think tank for major entrepreneurs from Brittany, and since 2009 had led Passeport Armorique, a non-profit supporting student entrepreneurs through mentorship from established business figures. That kind of long-term investment in the next generation of his region's talent says something about the man beyond the brands he built.

Claude also had a lesser-known creative side. In the late 1990s, Guillemot produced Archéologie du Futur, a CD-ROM and accompanying website exploring abandoned and forgotten places. In a 1999 interview about the project, he described the web as something "all and nothing at the same time," and spoke with real conviction about wanting a free and independent internet before commerce inevitably crowded it out. It is a strange and genuinely interesting footnote to a life otherwise defined by building one of gaming's largest companies.

About the Aircraft

The Cessna 421 is a twin-engine, geared-turbocharged aircraft that has built something of a reputation among pilots and mechanics for being notoriously fragile relative to its power output. The engines in particular are known for breaking down with some regularity, even on well-maintained examples, and parts support from Cessna has reportedly been difficult and expensive for years, since the manufacturer has largely moved away from supporting the model.

Geared engines like those on the 421 can develop sudden, serious issues – including loss of oil prime on startup and a higher rate of engine failure on takeoff compared to direct-drive alternatives. It is, among pilots familiar with the type, considered enough of a liability that some owners have specifically chosen the related Cessna 414 instead, partly for these exact reasons. The cause of Friday's crash has not yet been determined, and any connection to these known issues with the aircraft type remains speculation at this stage.

Our Condolences

Claude Guillemot spent four decades building something that millions of people who have never heard his name have nonetheless spent countless hours enjoying. Ubisoft, Guillemot Corporation, Gameloft – all three exist because five brothers from Brittany decided to build something together, and Claude was there from the very beginning.

DualShockers extends our heartfelt condolences to Claude Guillemot's family, his colleagues across Ubisoft and Guillemot Corporation, and everyone who knew him personally during a career that shaped a meaningful part of this industry.