Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla director steps down after affair allegations

By

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla has lost its creative director, Ashraf Ismail, just months ahead of its launch.

Recommended Videos

In a tweet on Wednesday, Ubisoft’s Ismail said he will resign from his post “to properly deal with the personal issues in my life.”

Related

Ismail didn’t say what precipitated his decision, but tweets surfaced over the weekend, implicating him in extramarital affairs and suggesting he hid his marital status to others.

“The lives of my family and my own are shattered,” he said in his tweet. He added that he wished his former team at Ubisoft “all the best” and that they didn’t “deserve to be associated” with his alleged impropriety.

“Ashraf Ismail is stepping down from the project to take a leave of absence,” Ubisoft told Digital Trends. “The development team is committed to delivering a great game in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.”

Ismail’s resignation comes just two days after developer Techland parted ways with writer Chris Avellone after several women over the weekend accused him of sexual harassment. In a statement, Techland said that it takes “matters of sexual harassment and disrespect with utmost care, and have no tolerance for such behaviors.”

On Sunday, Twitch said it also takes “accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct extremely seriously” after several people said the company has ignored instances of abuse by the platform’s streamers. A growing number of Twitch streamers have called for a Twitch blackout to recognize the sexual harassment victims and celebrate their courage for speaking out.

Between Friday and Monday, the New York Times identified more than 70 people, mostly women, who tweeted about their experiences with sexual harassment and abuse in the gaming industry. Streamer and content creator Jessica Richey has since published a spreadsheet documenting all of the gaming industry stories of sexual abuse, harassment, and assault shared since Friday. As of this writing, there are more than 210 stories on the list.

Ubisoft hasn’t named Ismail’s replacement, and it’s unclear what his departure will mean for the game.

Valhalla is expected to launch by the end of 2020. The game is the successor to the 2018 hit Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and will center on Vikings. It’ll be available on both current- and next-generation consoles as well as the PC.

Updated on June 24, 2020: Added Ubisoft’s statement and included more details.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger is a freelance technology, video game, and entertainment journalist. He has been writing about the world of…
Assassin’s Creed Mirage ending explained: What happens to Basim, Nehal, and Roshan
Basim showing off his hidden blade.

Assassins’ Creed Mirage is out now, bringing the series back to basics with a game focused on one of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s most intriguing characters. This adventure follows Basim as he goes from Anbar street thief to expert Assassin in Baghdad while hunting down members of The Order of the Ancients. As a prequel, there are some things about Basim as a character you might already know going in. Still, learning exactly how Basim stumbled upon these revelations is entertaining itself.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is shorter than other games in the series (at around 12 to 17 hours to complete), but most of the noteworthy reveals are saved for the story’s ending. If you want to know how Basim discovers who he truly is or just need to read a recap of the narrative’s major events, this is an overview of everything that happens in Assassin’s Creed Mirage and how it concludes in spectacular fashion.
How does Assassin’s Creed Mirage begin
Assassin’s Creed Mirage begins with a brief narration from modern-day Assassin Brotherhood Mentor William Miles. In the game’s only Animus-referencing narrative segment, he admits that he was worried people would learn the wrong lesson from Basim’s story. He now recognizes that his story “has much to teach us” and is now sharing it. He then sets the stage for its ninth-century Baghdad setting, the threat that is The Order of the Ancients, and Basim’s humble origins and eventual challenging of the Creed’s ideals.
This intro then transitions into a dream sequence for Basim, where a creepy jinni attacks him. Upon awakening, he’s comforted by his friend Nehal, and they set out to complete a contract for their friend Dervis in Anbar, a smaller city close to Baghdad. After pocketing some people and stealing a shipping ledger, Basim and Nehal learn that Dervis is working with a member of Hidden Ones named Roshan.
Roshan initially rejects Basim when he asks to come with her on a mission to retrieve a chest from the Caliph’s Winter Palace, but he and Nehal end up sneaking off and trying to get it anyway. Upon successfully infiltrating, they learn that the Caliph is working with The Order of the Ancients. They get to the chest and find a mysterious device inside it that gives him a vision of one man torturing another. The Caliph catches Basim doing this, and Nehal stabs and kills the Caliph.

Read more
All Lost Book locations in Assassin’s Creed Mirage

After the massive worlds of the last three titles, it is nice to be back to a more intimate setting with Assassin's Creed Mirage. While not nearly as large as previous games, Baghdad is still dense with activities and collectibles to find. Among the loot and outfits are a special set of Lost Books hidden across the map. These are not only great to find for the rewards you can get, but also necessary if you want to fully complete each district in the game for the Explorer and Scholar trophies and achievements. Even with eagle vision at Basim's disposal, finding these Lost Books isn't going to be an easy task. Follow our lead and we will make sure you find all the Lost Book locations in Assassin's Creed Mirage undetected.
All Lost Book locations

There are technically seven Lost Books to find in Assassin's Creed Mirage, but only six are required for the quest tied to them. Collecting certain ones will give you a skill point as a reward, but not all. Turn them all in to Al-Jahiz to complete the quest. Note that some books can't be collected until you've gone far enough into the story to unlock the areas where they are hidden.
Harbiyah
There are two books in this district to find.

Read more
All Assassin’s Creed Mirage outfit locations
Basim showing off his hidden blade.

A true assassin knows how to blend in with any crowd necessary to stalk their prey and remain undetected until the moment is right to strike. That is unless you're talking about Basim in Assassin's Creed Mirage, or any protagonist from the series really. Those white robes with the hood aren't exactly helping the assassins blend in anywhere, so why not spice up your look with some fresh outfits? Not only will they let you add some personality and style to keep the game a little fresher, but each outfit, unlike costumes, also has its own upgrades that give you different buffs. Unfortunately, there are some that can only be purchased as DLC, which we will list in a separate category, but all the others are able to be found in the game naturally. If you want to fill your wardrobe with all the latest fashion in Assassin's Creed Mirage, here is how you can get every outfit.
All outfit locations and perks

There are six outfits you can get through natural progression, either by purchasing them or as rewards for main or side quests.
Initiate of Almut Outfit
A simple one to start, this is the outfit Basim has by default when you start the game. It has the Silent Blade perk that reduces the noise you make when assassinating targets by 50%, 75%, and 100% as you upgrade it.
Zanj Uprising Outfit
You can loot the Zanj Uprising Outfit from the Gear Chests in the Harbiyah region. The chest is in the galley of the ship in the Upper Harbor. This outfit grants you the Infamous perk, which reduces how much notoriety you gain from illegal actions by 20%, 30%, and 40% per upgrade.
Abbasid Knight Outfit
You first need to steal a key from a guard to unlock the Tax Collector's Mansion in Karkh before you can go inside and loot the Gear Chest with this outfit inside. Once equipped, this outfit has the Lick Your Wounds perk that lets you regenerate 1%, 2%, and then 3% of your HP every two seconds so long as you're in stealth, but only up to a maximum of 50% HP.
Milad's Outfit
This outfit is a reward for collecting five Mysterious Shards and using them to unlock the middle chest in the Secret Chamber. Milad's Outfit has the Forgotten Terror perk which comes at max level and stuns all enemies within 15 meters after performing an air assassination.
Hidden One Outfit
Named after the order itself, the Hidden One Outfit is left in a Gear Chest at the top of the Shurta Headquarters in Round City. Wearing these robes grants you Deadly Movement which will restore 5%, 10%, or 15% of your Focus Chunks each time you pull off a stealth kill.
Rostam Outfit
An easy outfit to get, but also to miss, the Rostam Outfit is a reward for beating the side quest called"The Marked Coins." With this equipped you get the Sound of Silence perk to reduce the amount of noise you make while moving by 50%, 75%, and 100% with each upgrade.
DLC outfits
While it is unfortunate some outfits are not available to everyone without paying, at the very least they do not have perks you can miss out on. All three of these need to be purchased in the shop or come with the Deluxe Edition of Assassin's Creed Mirage.
Sand Outfit
Fire Demon Outfit
Jinn Outfit

Read more