After a leave of absence from Ubisoft in June, former creative director on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ashraf Ismail, has now been fired. This follows an external investigation into his inappropriate relationships with community members.
Ismail’s termination has been communicated to employees at Ubisoft Montreal through a company-wide email, which Kotaku has obtained a copy of. Although the letter doesn’t specifically state why Ismail was fired, it does note that it comes after an external investigation into allegations brought against him left no other choice.
“Following an investigation by an external firm, it was determined that Ashraf’s employment with Ubisoft had to be terminated,” reads the message. “We cannot provide any details about this confidential investigation.”
A Ubisoft representative confirmed the report with Bloomberg News, saying, “As a result of investigations, Ashraf Ismail has been dismissed from Ubisoft and is no longer an employee.”
Allegations against Ismail initially surfaced on June 21, when a video game streamer named Dani divulged her interaction with the Ubisoft director. She claimed that Ismail lied about his marital status to her, while also claiming that he had done the same to several other fans within the Ubisoft community.
“I don’t want other women to go through the same, and I’ve already had several tell me he did all the same stuff to them, and they’ve all been in the gaming community,” wrote Dani in June. “After verifying he was married, I figured I wasn’t the only one he had done this to.”
Ismail responded by stepping away from Ubisoft Montreal and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on June 24, citing personal issues that he needed to deal with. Since then Ubisoft has been the target of numerous sexual harassment and assault allegations, which has led to several resignations and public terminations.
In a recent Q&A following an earnings call, Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot dodged questions on his culpability in all the allegations targeting Ubisoft executives. A French union has also called on victims of harassment and assault to step forward as they prepare a legal case against Ubisoft.
GameSpot has contacted Ubisoft for comment.
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