Two people were killed when a plane crashed in western France, including a co-founder of video game giant Ubisoft, authorities and the company said on Saturday.
The twin-motor plane crashed into a field near the town of La Baule on Friday evening while approaching the local airfield, according to the public prosecutor’s office.
Ubisoft said it had learned “with great sadness” of the death of co-founder Claude Guillemot. The French company is known for blockbuster global franchises including “Assassin’s Creed.”
The aircraft had taken off from Rennes, where Guillemot lived, and prosecutors said he owned the plane, but stopped short of officially identifying him as one of the victims.
An investigation has been opened on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter. The exact circumstances and cause of the crash have not yet been determined.
Guillemot, 69, co-founded Ubisoft with his brothers in 1986. More recently, he served as head of the Guillemot Corporation, which sells computer gaming accessories and related products.
French junior minister for artificial intelligence and digital affairs Anne Le Hénanff paid tribute to Guillemot on X, writing that the French video game industry had lost “one of its pioneers.”
FILE PHOTO – Visitors line up at the Ubisoft stand at the Gamescom computer and video games trade fair. (is associated with: «Co-founder of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ company Ubisoft killed in plane crash») Oliver Berg/dpa