Ashraf Ismail has stepped down as Creative Director of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in the wake of accusations of sexual misconduct with fans.
“I am stepping down from my beloved project to properly deal with the personal issues in my life,” Ismail announced via tweet. “The lives of my family and my own are shattered. I am deeply sorry to everyone hurt in this.”
Ismail’s actions come after posts from Twitter user Danielle Cantrell that allege he “is routinely seeking out partners who are 8-18 years younger than them and fans of theirs” and is “abusing [his] position of power.”
“We are deeply concerned by these accusations,” Ubisoft said in a statement to Gamasutra in response to the allegations. “We take any allegations of abuse or harassment very seriously and we are looking closely into the allegations to determine next steps.”
Ismail is one of many in the games or games streaming industries to be accused of sexual misconduct. Writer Chris Avellone has been pulled from Dying Light 2 over similar allegations.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla heads to Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5 and Stadia where available this holiday 2020 season.
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