Earlier Assassin’s Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail, who resigned from that role in June after being publicly accused of having extramarital affairs with women under false pretenses, has now ended, according to an internal announcement from Ubisoft.
Employees in the Ubisoft Montreal office where Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is being developed were informed of the decision yesterday. “Following an investigation by an outside company, it was determined that Ashraf’s employment at Ubisoft should be terminated,” reads the following company-wide report, a copy of which was obtained by Kotaku. “We can not provide details about this confidential investigation.” The termination of Ismail comes amid ongoing investigations into abuse at Ubisoft to a wave of accusations of bullying and other abuse earlier this summer.
On June 21, Ismail was accused on Twitter of a pattern of trying to do business by exploiting his status and lying about being single. ‘This person is married. If he starts a relationship with you, then know that he is married, ”wrote a streamer named Dani, who was one of the women who lied to Ismail. “I do not want other women to go through the same thing, and I have already told several that he did all the same things to them, and they have all been in the gaming community,” she wrote in a subsequent tweet. Part of the accusation was that Ismail used his position of power at Ubisoft to pursue relationships with women new to the gaming sector.
After the public accusations, Ismail announced on June 24 via Twitter that he would step down from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to “handle the personal problems in my life well.” He continued: “The lives of my family and my own have been ruined. I’m sorry everyone’s hurt. ”
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Ashraf has been with Ubisoft since 2009, mostly as game director at 2017s Assassin’s Creed Origins and as creative director on Valhalla.
He is now joining a growing list of men who have been fired, forced to resign, or otherwise divorced from Ubisoft after allegations of abuse, including some of the most senior creative talents in the company. While some of you leave, like that of former chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, are publicly announced, others are only communicated internally, and in some cases, according to three sources Kotaku spoke to, only with the immediate team members associated with those individuals.
“Although we will not always publish the results of investigations worldwide, relevant parties, including victims and those involved in the investigation, will be informed of the results of the investigation, including disciplinary action (s) if applicable,” read an announcement about Mana from August 10, a copy of which was obtained by Kotaku. “Before and during the investigation, in order to protect the integrity of this investigation, only the manager and the victims and those involved in the investigation will receive information. If an investigation results in dismissal, the relevant teams and departments will also be informed. ”
Ubisoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additional report by Stephen Totilo.
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