Following recent allegations against now-former Assassin’s Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail, Ubisoft has issued a public statement on the matter.
“We have started by launching investigations into the allegations with the support of specialized external consultants,” the studio said. “Based on the outcomes, we are fully committed to taking any and all appropriate disciplinary action. As these investigations are ongoing, we can’t comment further. We are also auditing our existing policies, processes, and systems to understand where these have broken down, and to ensure we can better prevent, detect, and punish inappropriate behavior.”
Though the studio didn’t go into further detail, Ubisoft said it will be sharing “additional measures” that will be put in place company-wide in the coming days.
Recently, Ismail was outed on social media for allegedly cheating on his wife with multiple women. Whether as a result of the allegations or of his own accord, Ismail stepped down as creative director on Valhalla.
“I am stepping down from my beloved project to properly deal with the personal issues in my life,” Ismail wrote on his Twitter account, which has seemingly since been deleted. “The lives of my family and my own are shattered. I am deeply sorry to everyone hurt in this.”
Ismail wasn’t the only Ubisoft employee to have allegations levied against him. The studio’s product and brand marketing manager, Andrien Gbinigie, has also been accused of sexual assault. Gbinigie denied the claims in a now-removed Medium post.
“Concerning recent allegations raised against certain Ubisoft team members: We want to start by apologizing to everyone affected by this–we are truly sorry,” Ubisoft said. “We are dedicated to creating an inclusive and safe environment for our teams, players, and communities. It is clear we have fallen short of this in the past. We must do better.
“Our goal is to foster an environment that our employees, partners, and communities can be proud of–one that reflects our values and that is safe for everyone.”
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