Ashes of Creation has suffered one of the most dramatic collapses the MMO genre has seen in years — a studio-wide implosion at Intrepid Studios that unfolded in a matter of hours, leaving an ambitious decade‑long project effectively dead and its developers without pay.
Ashes of Creation: A Dream That Outlived Its Studio
For nearly ten years, Ashes of Creation carried the weight of MMO nostalgia on its shoulders. It was pitched as a return to the genre’s roots — a world shaped by players, a complex node system, and a promise to revive the sense of community that defined early MMORPGs. Its Kickstarter campaign in 2017 drew enormous attention, fueled by Steven Sharif’s charismatic leadership and the studio’s pledge to build an MMO free from predatory monetization.
But behind the scenes, the project was always walking a tightrope. The game’s development stretched across years of shifting technology, ballooning expectations, and a community that grew increasingly anxious as delays piled up. When Ashes of Creation finally launched in an alpha state on Steam in late 2025, it was meant to be a turning point — the moment where the long wait would begin to pay off.
Instead, it became the spark that ignited the studio’s collapse.
A Sudden Implosion
Just two days before the shutdown, Intrepid Studios was still posting updates and promising a roadmap. Then, without warning, the entire structure crumbled. Sharif announced on the game’s Discord that he had resigned after “control of the company” shifted away from him, claiming the Board began directing actions he “could not ethically agree with.”
His departure triggered a chain reaction: senior leadership walked out, the Board issued WARN Act notices, and the entire studio was laid off. Employees were informed that the payroll scheduled for February 1 would not be processed due to the company’s financial state — a devastating blow for a team that had just pushed a massive MMO into early access.
The shutdown was described internally as an “entire and permanent plant closing,” a phrase that left no room for interpretation.
The Fallout
Players who had paid $49.99 for early access were stunned to discover the game still purchasable on Steam even as the studio collapsed. SteamDB estimates suggest as many as 319,000 players may have bought the game — roughly $14 million in revenue — intensifying community anger and fueling accusations of a “pump and dump scam.”
Some fans pointed to a clause in the original Kickstarter: if the game didn’t launch on Steam, backers would receive refunds. The game did launch on Steam — barely — technically fulfilling that promise. Whether that timing was coincidence or strategy has become a point of fierce debate.
Meanwhile, creators like Pirate Software pushed back against the scam narrative, arguing that the project was genuinely progressing until the last six to eight months, when internal issues began to spiral.
A Troubling Twist
As the community searched for answers, fans uncovered a December 30, 2025 filing listing Steven Sharif as the sole board member of Intrepid Studios, with John Moore as CFO. The revelation raised new questions about how “control of the company” could have shifted away from Sharif if he was the only director on record.
The contradiction has fueled speculation, but Sharif has stated he cannot comment further due to ongoing legal and governance matters.
The End of an MMO That Never Got Its Chance
Ashes of Creation was supposed to be the MMO that broke the cycle — a game built by players, for players, free from corporate interference. Instead, it became a cautionary tale about the fragility of ambitious projects in an industry where development timelines stretch across years and financial pressures can crush even the most passionate teams.
The developers who poured years of work into the project now face uncertainty, unpaid wages, and the abrupt end of a dream they helped build. The players who believed in the vision are left with an unfinished world and unanswered questions.
And the MMO genre loses yet another hopeful spark — extinguished not by lack of interest, but by the collapse of the studio behind it.
