Former Assassin’s Creed Valhalla director fired following investigation

By Don Reisinger August 14, 2020

Months after stepping down from his duties on Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the game’s former creative director, Ashraf Ismail, has been fired.

Ubisoft fired Ismail on Friday, August 14, saying that it made its decision after launching an investigation into allegations made against him earlier this year. The company didn’t say when the decision was made and didn’t respond to Digital Trends’ request for comment.

Ismail served as the creative director for the highly anticipated Valhalla before he abruptly announced in June that he was stepping aside “to properly deal with the personal issues in my life.” His decision came after tweets surfaced that implicated him in extramarital affairs and accused him of hiding his marital status to the women he had been communicating with.

“The lives of my family and my own are shattered,” Ismail said in a tweet at the time. He also wished his Valhalla team “all the best” and said they didn’t “deserve to be associated” with his alleged affairs.

Ubisoft has been reeling over the last few months after both current and former employees went public with stories of widespread sexual assault, harassment, and sexism at the company. Ubisoft has hired an outside consultant to investigate all of the allegations and has fired several prominent executives and creative leads, including chief creative officer Serge Hascoet and Canadian studios head Yannis Mallat.

Ismail, however, had been spared a firing when he stepped down from his role in June, making him one of the few individuals to not immediately lose his job. It appears now that the investigation revealed enough for Ubisoft to fire him.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has publicly apologized to those who have come forward and shared their stories and promised to “change Ubisoft for the better.” He ultimately wants to build “an environment that its employees, partners, and communities can be proud of — one that reflects Ubisoft’s values and that is safe for everyone.”

Ismail’s firing shouldn’t impact Valhalla or its launch. The development team continued after Ismail stepped down and continues to promise a late-2020 release date.

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Don Reisinger is a freelance technology, video game, and entertainment journalist. He has been writing about the world of…

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