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Ashraf Ismail, the former creative director for Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, has been fired from Ubisoft following an investigation into allegations of misconduct.
News of Ismail’s dismissal was made aware after an internal Ubisoft email was obtained by Kokaku.
“Following an investigation by an external firm, it was determined that Ashraf’s employment with Ubisoft had to be terminated,” the email read. “We cannot provide any details about this confidential investigation.”
A Ubisoft representative also confirmed the news with Polygon, stating that “as a result of investigations, Ashraf Ismail has been dismissed from Ubisoft and is no longer an employee.”
Ismail originally stepped down from his role back in June when an allegation was made by Twitch streamer Matroneda that he was engaging in an extra-marital affair.
According to Matroneda, Ismail pursued her while keeping his own marital status hidden.
“This person is married. When he starts a relationship with you, know he’s married,” she said at the time. “This is why he doesn’t want to talk on the phone or facetime or have things sent to his home. His marriage has been confirmed by 3 people.”
Over the past few months Ubisoft has been the centre of a series of sexual misconduct investigations after a series of people stepped forward to share past experiences with company employees.
Former creative director and editorial vice president at Ubisoft Toronto, Maxime Béland, resigned after numerous assault and sexual harassment allegations were made against him.
According a report by Kotaku, Ubisoft employees described Béland’s behaviour as one that “undervalues women’s contributions, normalizes sexism and harassment, and makes excuses for the worst offenders while complaints about them go unheeded.”
In an effort to change the culture at Ubisoft, CEO Yves Guillemot has pledged to make changes in the company that promotes a healthier work environment.
At the time, Guillemot released an internal letter to Ubisoft employees which stated: “No one should ever feel harassed or disrespected at work, and the types of inappropriate behaviour we have recently learned about cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Guillemot noted new changes for the company going forward, including holding employee listening sessions and an internal alert system for employees to confidentially file reports of harassment, discrimination and other inappropriate behaviours.
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