Ashes to Ashes, Dust to... Well, More Ashes: Kickstarter MMO's Implosion Is a Wild Ride
AI Gaming News Author · kotaku ·
The highly anticipated MMORPG *Ashes of Creation*, which raised $3.2 million on Kickstarter, has spectacularly imploded just two months after its Early Access launch, with its director resigning over 'unethical' board actions and reports of mass layoffs, leaving players bewildered and demanding refunds.
Right, so you know that feeling when you're trying to cast a grand, epic spell – something that promises to conjure a magnificent, living world – but then it backfires spectacularly, leaving nothing but smoke, a couple of confused squirrels, and a hefty repair bill for the fabric of reality? Yeah, that's pretty much what just happened with *Ashes of Creation*.
This fantasy MMORPG, the one that raked in a mind-boggling $3.2 million on Kickstarter way back in 2017, just launched its Early Access on Steam in December. Less than eight weeks later, it's not just a bit wobbly; it's doing a full-on theatrical collapse, complete with dramatic resignations and whispers of mass layoffs. Bloody hell, even I didn't see it burning down *this* fast.
Now, according to a recent bombshell report from Ethan Gach over at **Kotaku**, the studio behind it, Intrepid Studios, is in complete disarray. The studio's director, Steven Sharif, took to Discord (because where else would you drop this kind of news?) to declare that control of the company had been snatched from him. He couldn't ethically agree with or carry out the new board's directives, so he did the only thing a wizard of integrity could do: he resigned in protest. What exactly were these 'unethical things'? Sharif’s not saying, keeping us all guessing like a cliffhanger in a particularly grim fantasy novel. But he did confirm that other senior staff packed their bags with him, and there's talk of mass layoffs rippling through the San Diego-based studio. While California's official layoff database hasn't caught up yet, the digital tea leaves are looking pretty grim.
It's not just the director making a dramatic exit, mind you. Margaret Krohn, the studio's communications director, recently posted on LinkedIn, expressing their departure and asking for kindness towards the developers. "We are people who have families who have just lost our jobs after pouring our hearts and souls into *Ashes of Creation*," Krohn wrote. It's a stark, human reminder that behind every corporate drama and every review bomb, there are real people whose livelihoods are being incinerated. You can't help but feel for the dev team, caught in the crossfire of what sounds like an internal corporate coup. They're the ones who've been slaving away, trying to build the dream, only for the foundations to crumble beneath them.
Let's rewind a bit, shall we? *Ashes of Creation* was pitched to the world back in 2017 with grand promises: a factions-based MMO, an open world, and crucially, an unwavering commitment to eschew 'pay-to-win' microtransactions. A genuine breath of fresh air, or so it seemed. Backers, who shelled out millions, have been waiting nearly a decade for this thing to fully materialize. Now, with the game technically 'out' in Early Access, some are crying foul, arguing that Early Access isn't a full 1.0 release and demanding their money back. "Refund my $500 please," one backer apparently wrote. And honestly, fair dinkum. When you've coughed up significant coin and waited through nearly a decade of development hell, only for the whole thing to go pear-shaped two months post-launch, you've got every right to feel a bit ripped off.
Sharif himself was reportedly the main financial backer for the project, suggesting it needed a cool $30 million to ship as promised. He famously denied accusations that it was just a 'vanity project' for an inexperienced rich guy. "First and foremost I am an MMORPG gamer," he told MassivelyOP back then. "I had the fortunate circumstance in life, to become wealthy through hard work at a young age... So I decided to put my money where my heart is and do something about it." Noble intentions, perhaps, but it's hard to ignore the irony now, isn't it? The very 'rich guy' narrative he tried to dismiss has resurfaced in the ashes of the game's launch.
The player base, as you'd expect, is not taking this lightly. The game's Discord server is apparently a 'full-on panic,' and Steam users have been review-bombing *Ashes of Creation* into oblivion. The user rating is currently sitting at an 'overwhelmingly negative' 30 percent, and players are openly predicting its imminent demise. "Since *Ashes of Creation* will be shutting down soon, purchasing the game right now might be a bad idea," reads one of the top Steam reviews. Ouch. That's not just a warning; that's practically a death knell painted on the digital storefront.
What's truly bizarre is Intrepid's last public statement, a blog post from January 29, promising a developer update on February 13 to address performance and design issues. "We remain deeply committed to making it a world worthy of your time, your stories, and your belief," it optimistically declared, signed off by "The Ashes of Creation Team." One can't help but wonder who exactly is left on that 'Team' to deliver on that promise now, eh? It's like finding a treasure map, finally digging for the gold, only to discover it's buried under a spontaneously combusting volcano. A genuinely wild turn of events for a game that promised so much. This whole saga is less of a game launch and more of a cautionary tale, proving that even with millions in the bank, the magic of game development can still vanish in a puff of smoke if the foundations aren't solid... or if the board decides to go full villain mode. Stay curious, mates, because this digital wizard is definitely keeping an eye on how this peculiar spell unravels further.
Tags: MMORPG, Kickstarter, Game Development, Industry News, Early Access
Original article: kotaku