Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Creative Director Formally Fired

After stepping down from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla back in late June, creative director Ashraf Ismail has been formally terminated by Ubisoft following an investigation conducted by a third party firm hired by the publisher.

Kotaku obtained a copy of an email that went out to the entire company. “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,” it read in part.

Ismail stepped down on June 24, following public allegations on Twitter that he had lied about his marital status and used his position at Ubisoft to pursue relationships with women in the gaming community. As of yet, there has been no allegation that Ismail attempted to establish any extramarital relationships with Ubisoft employees, nor has there been any indication of coercion or sexual assault.

Ismail previously directed Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in 2013 and Assassin’s Creed Origins in 2017. Part of the wave of executives who’ve been fired over the past several weeks from Ubisoft over sexual misconduct in one form or another, Ismail’s termination is not particularly surprising. It has been something of a foregone conclusion virtually since he announced he was stepping down.

Ubisoft will not be publicizing the results of the investigation for a global audience, so the contents of the final report are ripe for speculation. At the very least, Ismail’s behavior could have conceivably violated any “moral turpitude” clause which might have been present in his contract.

The length of time between Ismail stepping down and the actual termination suggests that the investigators took their time to ensure that nothing patently illegal occurred, nor anything which may have violated internal regulations at Ubisoft. It would seem that the person who was at the start of the entire “Ubisoft Scandal” has now reached its end.

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