Over 8 years since a $3.27 million Kickstarter, MMO Ashes of Creation hit with "mass" layoffs after studio founder resigns "in protest"

Kickstarter-funded MMORPG Ashes of Creation has reportedly lost its development team after resignations by "much" of its senior leadership.

As reported by PCGamesN, yesterday, Intrepid Studios founder and Ashes of Creation creative director Steven Sharif took to the MMO's official Discord server with a "limited" personal statement. He alleges, "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."

While the future of Ashes of Creation hasn't been addressed publicly, things don't sound too promising. In a LinkedIn post from former director of communications and marketing Margaret Krohn announcing her departure from Intrepid Studios, she notes: "As for how this all ended… I don't really have the words. It wasn't what I expected." Asked whether "the game is just done now," Krohn replies: "I don't work there anymore, so I can't answer that for you. Personally, I don't know how they would make it when the heart and soul of the product, the amazing dev team, was all laidoff."

In a separate post, senior environment artist Adam Anthony says: "With the closing of Intrepid Studios, I am now currently looking for work."

Ashes of Creation billed itself as an open-world, "old-school take on the modern MMORPG set in a living, reactive world where your choices shape civilization." A Kickstarter was launched to help fund it back in 2017, where it quickly smashed past its $750,000 goal to raise $3.27 million. It became playable in Steam via Early Access in December 2025, with its recent reviews currently sitting at Mostly Negative (it's worth noting that a large number of these negative reviews were submitted over the last couple of days, following the latest news).

On Discord, Sharif says his "next action will be a public filing," adding: "I hope at that point people have a better understanding of what happened."

One user claims that a lawsuit would "take years," suggesting that the founder should "make a deal" and could have "saved another 100 peoples jobs and not crushed the community." They add: "I think the best play here make a deal bend the knee to them save the game.. or accidently drop the files and the community will take it from here."

Sharif quickly shuts this down. "Wait until there are more facts available before forming conclusions like this. The internet isn't kind to patience, but unfortunately the legal process requires it. You cannot imagine how difficult it is for me to stay quiet. But I must. When filings become public, there will be a clearer factual record to reference."

All of this comes just days after a director's letter (from the dev team more widely) to Ashes of Creation fans addressing issues and concerns surrounding performance, bugs, cheaters, and more. At the time, it was claimed that "we are actively working on these areas," but "game development, especially at this scale, is rarely linear. Systems evolve. Assumptions are challenged. Foundations must sometimes be reworked, so what comes next can stand strong. That process can be uncomfortable, particularly in an open development environment where you see the seams as they're stitched. But it is also what allows us to build something ambitious, durable, and worthy of your investment."

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