Current Events > Ashraf Ismail (Black Flag, Origins) fired from Ubisoft

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://kotaku.com/assassin-s-creed-creative-director-fired-from-ubisoft-f-1844724819

Former Assassins Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail, who stepped down from that role in June after being publicly accused of pursuing extramarital relationships with women under false pretenses, has now been terminated, according to an internal announcement by Ubisoft.

Employees in the Ubisoft Montreal office where Assassins Creed Valhalla is being developed were notified of the decision yesterday. Following an investigation by an external firm, it was determined that Ashrafs employment with Ubisoft had to be terminated, reads the subsequent company-wide message, a copy of which was obtained by Kotaku. We cannot provide any details about this confidential investigation. Ismails termination comes amid ongoing investigations into misconduct at Ubisoft following a wave of allegations of harassment and other abuses earlier this summer.

On June 21, Ismail was accused on Twitter of a pattern of trying to engage in affairs by leveraging his status and lying about being single. This person is married. When he starts a relationship with you, know hes married, wrote a streamer named Dani who was one of the women Ismail lied to. I dont want other women to go through the same, and Ive already had several tell me he did all the same stuff to them, and theyve all been in the gaming community, she wrote in a subsequent tweet.

Following the public allegations, Ismail announced on June 24 over Twitter that he would be stepping down from Assassins Creed Valhalla to properly deal with the personal issues in my life. He continued: The lives of my family and my own are shattered. I am deeply sorry to everyone hurt in this.

Ashraf had been at Ubisoft since 2009, most recently as game director on 2017s Assassins Creed Origins and as creative director on Valhalla.

He now joins a growing list of men who have been fired, forced to resign, or otherwise separate from Ubisoft following allegations of misconduct, which includes some of the most senior creative talent in the company. While some of those departures, like that of former chief creative officer Serge Hascot, have been announced publicly, others have only been communicated internally, and in some instances, according to three sources Kotaku spoke with, only to the direct team members associated with those individuals.

While we will not always publish the results of investigations globally, relevant parties including victims and those involved in the investigations will be informed of the investigations results, including disciplinary action(s) when applicable, read an announcement on Mana from August 10, a copy of which was obtained by Kotaku. Before and during the investigations, in order to protect the integrity of these investigation, only the manager and the victims and those involved in the investigation receive information. If an investigation results in dismissal, the relevant teams and departments will also be informed.

Ubisoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

1) What a fucking dumbass

2) From a creative and Assassin's Creed-centered standpoint this is a HUGE loss
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you can get fired for cheating now?

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Oh

This is slut shaming
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Obstacle2 posted...

you can get fired for cheating now?

Companies generally don't want to hire people who flaunt immoral behavior.

And based on that first paragraph alone it sounds like the guy was exploiting his position or straight up lying to try to hook up with *multiple* women.

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Obstacle2 posted...

you can get fired for cheating now?

He used his job to find these women, largely from Ubisoft conventions and the sort.
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Isnt it great what we do in the privacy of a bedroom is grounds for termination?

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Lordgold666 posted...

Isnt it great what we do in the privacy of a bedroom is grounds for termination?

its pretty great when it involves cheating!

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Lordgold666 posted...

Isnt it great what we do in the privacy of a bedroom is grounds for termination?

Try reading the article

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Lordgold666 posted...

Isnt it great what we do in the privacy of a bedroom is grounds for termination?

On June 21, Ismail was accused on Twitter of a pattern of trying to engage in affairs by leveraging his status and lying about being single.

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Lordgold666 posted...

Isnt it great what we do in the privacy of a bedroom is grounds for termination?

When it involves using said job as leverage, yes.
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Lordgold666 posted...

Isnt it great what we do in the privacy of a bedroom is grounds for termination?

Good thing you don't care if people think your posts are stupid.

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Blue_Inigo posted...

Try reading the article

Women love power
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Social justice aside can they fire whoever is responsible for making those games not fun?

I mean it's amazing really. Such a good IP. Such good ideas. And then boom - "here's 400 gold rings you have to collect across our 20 kilometre map, ta da! Have fun. "

Or "So we know you hate escort and following missions, so we've decided to make the decision to make every mission those missions".

They really shit the bed every time with this crap.


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Also CE gonna CE

Imagine not knowing that companies can fire you for things like this


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Lol I've worked in banking/consulting since I graduated and half of these people are having affairs with each other. Firing this guy is excessive as hell

And considering this is a FRENCH company too, where having affairs is considered the norm over staying faithful? Come on

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Obstacle2 posted...

Lol I've worked in banking/consulting since I graduated and half of these people are having affairs with each other. Firing this guy is excessive as hell

And considering this is a FRENCH company too, where having affairs is considered the norm over staying faithful? Come on

But you do recognize there's a difference between two co-workers hooking up on a business trip, and a guy outright exploiting his position at a company and lying about his marital status to sleep with people?

Not even saying the first one is defensible - it definitely raises the question of impartiality and is not professional, either.

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Those are the two AC games I plan on playing first because theyre supposedly the two best.

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Bio1590 posted...

2) From a creative and Assassin's Creed-centered standpoint this is a HUGE loss

Agreed

I can't defend him though, I wish he was a better person but it is what it is

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pinky0926 posted...

Social justice aside can they fire whoever is responsible for making those games not fun?

I mean it's amazing really. Such a good IP. Such good ideas. And then boom - "here's 400 gold rings you have to collect across our 20 kilometre map, ta da! Have fun. "

Or "So we know you hate escort and following missions, so we've decided to make the decision to make every mission those missions".

They really shit the bed every time with this crap.

What the hell AC games have you been playing

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Hexenherz posted...

But you do recognize there's a difference between two co-workers hooking up on a business trip, and a guy outright exploiting his position at a company and lying about his marital status to sleep with people?

Not even saying the first one is defensible - it definitely raises the question of impartiality and is not professional, either.

He is no doubt a shitbag but he's getting fired because the company wants to save face, not because they care about their junior employees. His only mistake was that he had his affair with a streamer who used her media platform to kick up a fuss. If he'd just been pulling this shit with other employees there's no way he'd have been fired. This is not an HR move, it's a PR move.

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I feel like he's one of the names I'd always see pop up as to why the Ubi Montral games felt so much tighter and had more attention to detail than the Quebec games. Shame he had to be an idiot. Hope it doesn't hurt the game too bad but oh well

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eston posted...

What the hell AC games have you been playing

Last one I tried was Black Flag and I just can't do it anymore. So if things have greatly changed I'll eat my words, but last I remembered it was a fill in the map game.

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pinky0926 posted...

Last one I tried was Black Flag and I just can't do it anymore. So if things have greatly changed I'll eat my words, but last I remembered it was a fill in the map game.

Far fewer escort missions since Syndicate, though you still have some brief escort stints in some of the quests in Origins and Odyssey.

My favorite are the ones where you have to pick a person up because their leg is wounded too heavily, and then you get them to whatever you're supposed to deliver them and they just hop up, say their piece and then run away >_>

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Oranges2Oranges posted...

I feel like he's one of the names I'd always see pop up as to why the Ubi Montral games felt so much tighter and had more attention to detail than the Quebec games. Shame he had to be an idiot. Hope it doesn't hurt the game too bad but oh well

AC Valhalla should be okay because of how close we are to its release (about 3 months).

Now the next game he may have been working on...probably not good.
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eston posted...

What the hell AC games have you been playing

While I love Odyssey, it is a pretty big map and has a decent amount of bloat in it.
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Oh this is fucking rich coming from Ubisoft. But fuck that guy.

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well this series is dead now