Ashes of Creation is a self-proclaimed “old-school take” on the modern MMORPG, and is the product of a hugely successful $3.27 million Kickstarter back in 2017. After spending extended time in Alpha, the game surprise-launched into Early Access in December, and now, less than two months later, it seems developer Intrepid Studios, Inc. is shutting down.
Over the weekend, PCGamesN noticed the Ashes of Creation website was updated to include a letter from the director, curiously signed off by “The Ashes of Creation Team” rather than the game’s director, Steven Sharif. It turns out, Sharif resigned from Intrepid recently, posting in the game’s Discord, “I can make a limited statement in my personal capacity and not on behalf of the company, regarding the situation,” adding that “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,” Sharif wrote in the Discord post, according to PCGamesN. “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.”
Around the same time, over the weekend, Intrepid’s director of communications, Margaret Krohn, revealed on LinkedIn that her time at the studio had come to an end. Following that, it appears various other developers at Intrepid were laid off as a result of a “studio wide shut-down,” which is how former Ashes of Creation environment artist Alyvia Plummer described the situation in her LinkedIn post. In another LinkedIn post, Intrepid sound designer Kevin Stiles writes, “Hi everyone, with the recent closure of Intrepid Studios, I’m now actively seeking new opportunities in game audio,” seemingly confirming Plummer’s description of the situation as a complete studio closure, as reported by Game Developer.
Intrepid Studios hasn’t said anything about a closure in official communications – the most recent communication is the posting of the aforementioned letter from the director, which addresses fans’ concerns about the game and issues impacting the player experience. Notably, that letter states a full development update for the game will arrive via a Twitch livestream on February 13; given the various LinkedIn posts stating the studio has closed, it remains to be seen if this update will actually happen.
Game Informer will continue to monitor the game’s status and update the story accordingly.
In the meantime, be sure to check out Game Informer’s cover story on the upcoming Midnight expansion for the uber-popular MMO, World of Warcraft.
[Sources: PCGamesN, Game Developer]
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