Fresh allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct have shaken the gaming industry to its core in the last week. From people at high positions like game directors to streamers within the community facing fresh allegation daily, questions about the safety and work culture that women employees are subjected to within the industry is gaining traction.
This time, Ubisoft’s creative director for Assassin’s Creed series Ashraf Ismail is in the limelight following allegations of infidelity. Multiple people close to Ismail have accused him of allegedly cheating on his wife many times. One such accuser, a woman, revealed that Ismail had a full-blown relationship with her while hiding his married life. The women also revealed that Ismail tried to hide their relationship from his family and kept it a secret from them while simultaneously living a double married life.
Following the accusations, Ashraf Ismail has stepped down from his position in Ubisoft and also deleted his Twitter account after posting his last Tweet:
“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.”
Since his last Tweet, Ubisoft has also issued a statement where they have apologized to everyone affected by the misconduct and have since launched a deep investigation with the promise of “taking any and all appropriate disciplinary action”
Ashraf Ismail was working as the creative director at Ubisoft Montreal for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Valhalla was his second game as a creative director, with the first one being Assassin’s Creed: Origins which came out in 2017.
