Ashraf Ismail, the former creative director for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, was released by Ubisoft, Bloomberg reports. Ismail stepped down from his role and said goodbye to an absence in June after one of Ismail’s accused lying about his marital status to pursue a romantic relationship with her.
“As a result of investigations, Ashraf Ismail has been fired from Ubisoft and is no longer an employee,” a Ubisoft spokesman said. The edge. Kotaku also saw an internal message sent to employees confirming that the company had terminated Ismail’s employment following an external investigation.
Ubisoft has been under scrutiny since June when dozens of people spoke on social media about the company’s toxic work culture, which presumably ran for more than a decade, according to Bloomberg. New allegations are still being made, with Gamasutra reports this morning on allegations made against additional employees, including Jonathan Dumont, the creative director for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, who allegedly displayed controlling and violent behavior in the workplace.
Following the initial wave of accusations, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced in July that several changes would be made internally to create a healthier work environment at the company. This includes tying bonuses to team leaders based on “their ability to create a positive and inclusive work environment.”
Many Ubisoft operators have fired or left the company in recent weeks following allegations of harassment and professional abuse. In July, former creative director and editorial vice president at Ubisoft Toronto, Maxime Béland, resigned from his position after being placed on administrative leave in June for several instances of adverse behavior, including sexual harassment. In the same week, three top executives, including chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, were fired from the company in light of recent allegations of unusual behavior. More recently, Tommy François, the VP of editorial and creative services, left the company in early August after allegations of sexual harassment were made against him.
