Ashraf Ismail, the Creative Director of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and previously Game Director on Origins (2017) and Black Flag (2013), has announced via Twitter that he is leaving the project to focus on his personal life. As of now, it appears that the account has been taken down.
https://twitter.com/AshrafAIsmail/status/1275839405144657920
He has been recently accused of infidelity by Danielle Cantrell on Twitter, which is the prominent reason behind Ashraf’s departure.
https://twitter.com/matronedea/status/1274777363771867136
In an email query from Polygon, A Ubisoft representative has confirmed that Ashraf Ismail is stepping down and taking a leave of absence. After allegations of sexual harassment, assault, and predatory behavior against product and brand marketing manager Andrien Gbinigie and associate public relations director Stone Chin, this is the third case in the company that is coming to light. Ubisoft, in a statement to Gamasutra, has said “We are deeply concerned by these accusations. We take any allegations of abuse or harassment very seriously and we are looking closely into the allegations to determine next steps.”
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will release worldwide Holiday 2020 on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and for Windows PC exclusively on both the Epic Games Store and the Ubisoft Store. The game will also be available on UPLAY+, Ubisoft’s subscription service.