Ubisoft confirms the leave of absence of its Assassin’s Creed Valhalla creative director, Ashraf Ismail, following the allegations thrown at him.
The gaming industry continues to make headlines as bosses and executives are now getting exposed for their alleged abuses and misconducts. The Assasin’s Creed creator, Ubisoft, was not spared of the controversy as their very own creative director gets exposed for supposed cheating.
Ubisoft news: AC Valhalla director accused of cheating
The issue is originating from a tweet that accuses Ashraf Ismail of cheating on his wife, with a woman who didn’t know he was married. The scorned woman was the one who exposed Ismail on social media.
A follow-up tweet showed screenshots of their conversation where Ismail asked the woman, who goes by the name of Dani, to take down her post.
Two days later, on June 24, GameSpot reports that Ismail announced via Twitter that he is stepping down from the Assasin’s Creed Valhalla project to “deal with the personal issues” in his life. Ismail has completely deleted his Twitter account after revealing his exit to the Ubisoft project.
Let's talk about Ashraf Ismail: https://t.co/htLccSvHh2 pic.twitter.com/DFEl7zx4Vu
— JorRaptor (@Jorraptor) June 24, 2020
Per the gaming publication, Ismail’s tweet read:
“I am stepping down from my beloved project to properly deal with the personal issues in my life. The lives of my family and my own are shattered. I am deeply sorry to everyone hurt in this.”
He reportedly further expressed, in a follow-up tweet, that the others who continue to strive to work on the project “do not deserve to be associated with this.”
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The Montreal-based gaming giant has confirmed Ismail’s employment status with multiple media outlets saying, “Ashraf Ismail is stepping down from the project to take a leave of absence.”
Ismail was supposed to be leading the Assasin’s Creed Valhalla development, which is set to release on the next-gen consoles—PS5 and Xbox Series X. Ismail also lead the Ubisoft team behind AC Origins.
Nevertheless, the spokesperson of Ubisoft did assure its players in a way, that the game will not be affected by the current issue, by saying, “the development team is committed to delivering a great game in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.”
Ismail is not the only executive that is being accused of some sort of misconduct. Windows Central reports that Product and Brand Marketing Manager Andrien Gbinigie is being slammed with sexual harassment and assault allegations.
Ubisoft told Gamasutra that they are “deeply concerned by these accusations.” Rest assured, the bosses are looking closely into the issues, to take the necessary steps on dealing with it.
Featured image courtesy of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla