New Delhi, June 21 -- The global gaming industry is mourning the loss of Claude Guillemot, one of the five brothers who founded Ubisoft and helped transform it from a small French software distributor into one of the world's most influential video game publishers. Guillemot died Friday in a plane crash near La Baule on France's Atlantic coast. He was 69.

Ubisoft confirmed the tragedy in a statement on Saturday, saying it was "deeply saddened" by the death of its co-founder and longtime chairman of Guillemot Corporation. The company extended its condolences to Guillemot's family and loved ones and indicated that no further comments would be made at this time.

According to French authorities and local reports, the twin-engine Cessna 421 c...