Ashraf Ismail, the creative director of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and previously-released Origins is stepping down from his role at Ubisoft following allegations of an affair and sexual misconduct with fans.
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The ex-creative director announced the news on Twitter and then deactivated his account soon after.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”#43AD22″ class=”” size=”21″]“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.” [/perfectpullquote]
His announcement comes days after accusations of affairs with younger fans began popping up online. According to allegations, Ismail has had multiple affairs with much younger female fans while married. Reports claim the man kept this a secret from his family and set up all sorts of ways to get it done without anyone finding out.. Until now.
Ubisoft released a statement claiming the creative director is stepping down from the project to take a leave of absence. However, they claim development on the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is still going strong and will be delivered as intended.
The news comes in light of a recent outpouring of stories related to female sexual misconduct against prominent male figures in the gaming industry. Several Ubisoft employees have recently been accused of the same thing. The company claims they take these accusations extremely seriously and are looking into them to determine the next steps.
Ashraf Ismail was working on the upcoming Viking-themed Assassin’s Creed Valhalla release set to debut later this year on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC. We will just have to wait and see if this drama delays the game in any way.
