Intrepid Studios appears to be in deep trouble, which will very likely spell doom for its MMORPG, Ashes of Creation.
No official announcement from the company itself has been made, but (former) Director Steven Sharif posted a “personal statement” on the game’s official Discord server.
Sharif mentions that the board of directors of the company demanded actions that he considered unethical, and he resigned in protest, followed by much of the senior leadership team.
In response, according to Sharif’s report, the board issued WARN notices (which are required to give 60 days’ advance notice to workers of a mass layoff or company closure in the US if the company has more than 100 employees) and initiated mass layoffs.
Here’s the full statement,
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.
— Steven Sharif
Sharif also added that his next action will be a public filing, which he hopes will give people a better understanding of the situation.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to see how the studio or the game could recover from this situation, although no announcement has been made, and Ashes of Creation remains purchasable on Steam with no mention of the situation at all, besides in user reviews.
Ashes of Creation was already in trouble, and just a few days ago, the development team issued “A Director’s Letter to the Citizens of Verra,” acknowledging several issues as follows.
- The impact of RMT, bots, and cheating on fairness and progression
- PvP and corruption systems that don’t yet feel consistent or fully realized
- Issues surrounding caravans, crates, and risk-versus-reward gameplay
- Content and system bugs that interrupt gameplay
- Performance and stability problems that pull you out of the world
That came with a promise of a livestream on February 13, in which the developers would have explained their plans for Q1 and how they would have tackled the issues mentioned above.
If you’re unfamiliar with Ashes of Creation, it’s an ambitious fantasy MMORPG that was initially financed with a Kickstarter campaign in 2016, raising over $3 million from backers.
After many years in development, the game’s second alpha made it relatively available for players at the end of 2024, and it recently launched in early access on Steam.
It promised a sandbox environment in which player guilds could govern territory and its resources, shaping the fate of the world with their actions. Unfortunately, this is now unlikely to see fruition.