Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Creative Director Ashraf Ismail has been fired from Ubisoft due to his criminal behavior, the publisher found via an internal investigation that some of the allegations filed against him were true, as it was confirmed by an internal announcement shared within the Ubisoft Montreal.
“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’s official statement reads: “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.”
In late June, several Ubisoft employees took Twitter as the platform to accuse some of the highest-ranking executives from Ubisoft as criminals, several allegations of physical and psychological violence, sexual harassment, assault were described. Ubisoft’s announced the investigations of the allegations with “external consultants”
The promise of those investigations was real, Maxime Beland and Tommy François have recently left Ubisoft due to their criminal behavior. François was one of the key members of the recently restructured editorial team. Ubisoft is now facing a collective lawsuit against them from Solidaires Informatique, the defense, led by Maude Beckers, promises total confidentiality and legal support to all the victims of harassment from Ubisoft’s executives.
Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot released a letter explaining that the publisher is now restructuring its editorial team, the implications of the toxic nature of Ubisoft will be evident in 2021.
“We are not looking for a quick fix, but rather a structural shift at Ubisoft that fully aligns with our values – values that do not tolerate toxic behaviors and where everyone feels safe to speak out,” … “We must do everything we can to ensure no one is in these situations ever again … I will need everyone to work together to build and implement them so that respect for others remains one of the pillars of Ubisoft’s culture.”
Source: Kotaku
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