Ashes of Creation seems to be no more. The ambitious MMORPG seems to be done for just a month after being released into Steam Early Access, and after roughly a decade of development and closed playtests.
A mere day after a new "Director's Letter" to players was released, the game and the development studio behind it, Intrepid Studios, were basically no more. The director and creator of Ashes of Creation, Steven Sharif, quit "in protest" over decisions his Board made that he could "not ethically agree with or carry out."
Sharif's full statement was first shared via the Ashes of Creation Discord server (via Reddit):
I can make a limited statement in my personal capacity and not on behalf of the company, regarding the situation.
Control of the company shifted away from me, and the Board began directing actions that I could not ethically agree with or carry out. As a result, I chose to resign in protest rather than lend my name or authority to decisions I could not ethically support.
Following my resignation, much of the senior leadership team resigned. Following those departures, the Board made the decision to issue WARN Act notices and proceed with a mass layoff.
I cannot responsibly speak to further details at this time due to ongoing legal and governance matters. What I can say is that the developers and staff acted in good faith and deserved better than the uncertainty they are now facing. I am incredibly dismayed by the situation.
Control of the company shifted away from me, and the Board began directing actions that I could not ethically agree with or carry out. As a result, I chose to resign in protest rather than lend my name or authority to decisions I could not ethically support.
Following my resignation, much of the senior leadership team resigned. Following those departures, the Board made the decision to issue WARN Act notices and proceed with a mass layoff.
I cannot responsibly speak to further details at this time due to ongoing legal and governance matters. What I can say is that the developers and staff acted in good faith and deserved better than the uncertainty they are now facing. I am incredibly dismayed by the situation.
Sharif did not offer any explanation or clarification about any of the issues he objected to that the Board put forth.
An internal memo made its way online, which said that all job titles and all positions will be impacted by an "entire and permanent plant closing." Furthermore, the staff pay that was supposed to run on February 1st was not run because the finances at Intrepid are pretty dire. Apparently the company ran out of cash after the game sold between 250,000 and 319,000 Early Access copies at $49.99 a pop.
Fans find the entire situation a bit suspicious. The Ashes of Creation Kickstarter has long stated that if the game did not launch on Steam, all backers would be fully refunded. With Ashes of Creation technically being released on Steam in December, the team technically fulfilled that obligation and do not technically have to issue any refunds. Those who purchased the game on Steam Early access can still try for a refund. Those with under two hours of game time should have no issues getting a refund. Those who played more than two hours may find it more difficult to get a refund.
The Kickstarter raised over $3.2 million from backers. There were several backer tiers to choose from during the Kickstarter campaign, with some going as high as $10,000. Most of the tiers that were available went for far more than the $49.99 price of the game when purchased through Steam. Naturally, many fans feel as though they've had the rug pulled out from under them, with some calling the entire situation a scam.
Ashes of Creation is still available for purchase through Steam at the time of this publication.
In a final bizarre twist, Reddit dug up public filings for Intrepid Studios that suggests Steven Sharif is the only registered member of the company's Board of Directors. There are certainly a lot of wild circumstances surrounding the entire situation. We wish nothing but the best to those employees and developers caught up in this mess, and for the hopeful fans that may now be out of some money now.
