A few months ago, Assassin's Creed Valhalla's former creative director Ashraf Ismail stepped down from his role after a fan accused him of engaging in a relationship with her while lying about his marital status. Today, we learned that Ubisoft has fired Ismail after an external company carried out the investigation. “As a result of investigations, Ashraf Ismail has been dismissed from Ubisoft and is no longer an employee," a Ubisoft spokesperson said to Eurogamer.
Ismail worked at Ubisoft as a creative director for multiple popular Assassin's Creed games - Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Assassin's Creed Origins, and he was also leading the development of Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Twitch streamer Matronedea accused Ismail of his extra-marital affair and stated that she was with Ismail on and off for a year before finding out about his marital status.
In June, Ubisoft launched an investigation into Ismail's conduct. The company also investigated other executives who were accused of misconduct and abuse. Kotaku was able to obtain an internal message revealing to Ubisoft employees that Ismail's employment with the company had been terminated. The message did not share the reason behind his termination. "Following an investigation by an external firm, it was determined that Ashraf’s employment with Ubisoft had to be terminated. We cannot provide any details about this confidential investigation," the message reads.
After Ubisoft launched an investigation within the company, several employees have been kicked out of the company. Earlier this month, the company's VP of Editorial and Creative Services, Tommy François, had to leave the company. In July, Ubisoft also announced that the company's Chief Creative Officer, Serge Hascoët, Managing Director of the company's Canadian studio, Yannis Mallat, and Global Head of Human Resources, Cécile Cornet, had resigned.
After these recent incidents, CEO Yves Guillemot talked about introducing a structural shift within the company to tackle and address abuse and inappropriate behavior.
