Ubisoft has fired the creative director of Assassin's Creed Valhalla

According to an internal memo sent to Kotaku, Ubisoft has fired the creative director of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ashraf Ismail. Ismail had previously stepped down from the role in June, “to take a leave of absence,” after he was accused of sexual misconduct. 

Via a memo, employees at Ubisoft Montreal were informed that an external firm investigated the allegations and, “it was determined that Ashraf’s employment with Ubisoft had to be terminated.” The memo did not divulge any more details on the matter. 

Ismail had previously been accused of lying about his marital status, in order to pursue a relationship with a fan. He served as creative director for both Assassin’s Creed Origins and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. His time as creative director on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has been cut short, however - which makes sense, considering Ubisoft might not want bad PR surrounding their biggest 2020 release. 

Ubisoft was hit by a massive wave of sexual misconduct allegations involving higher-ups at the company back in June. Most go far beyond cases of infidelity, involving sexual harassment and assault within the industry. Multiple executives at the very top of Ubisoft’s hierarchy of power have been fired - such as Tommy François, Maxime Béland and Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoët. 

Hascoët’s departure was particularly surprising, considering the massive amount of creative control he held over Ubisoft games. He reportedly pushed for less prominent female leads in games like Assassin’s Creed Origins, and cancelled a King Arthur RPG from Dragon Age creator Mike Laidlaw… because he didn’t like fantasy. 

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