Intrepid Studios Board Lays Off Entire Development Team of Ashes of Creation MMO

Intrepid Studios, the developers behind the MMORPG Ashes of Creation, have laid off all 250 employees.

The board of directors issued WARN Act notices to employees following the departures of "much" of the company's senior leadership after Steven Sharif, the founder and boss of the company, resigned in protest after losing control of the company and not agreeing with the board's actions.

The above statement came from a private discord server related to the alpha of the game and follows a few layoffs earlier in the month and yesterday's big Q1 roadmap stream being delayed until mid-February in a director's letter (see below).

There are no announcements about what the plans are with the game, but we can't imagine it would be easy to salvage if you have let go of all the developers.

Ashes of Creation released on Steam back in early December and we don't recommend buying a copy of the game if you were interested in it until everything settles. If you can claim a refund, you may want to try. In was first available in an NDA Alpha test back on December 15, 2017.

Director's Letter

This letter was posted two days ago detailing that the developers were aware of many issues surrounding the game. 

Quote From Ashes of Creation

To our glorious community,

Ashes of Creation exists because of you. Every tester who logs in, reports a bug, and challenges us to do better - this world is shaped not just by our developers, but by the people who believe in what Verra can become.

We know that some of you are frustrated right now. We feel that. You’ve been candid about the issues impacting your experience, and you deserve clarity and honesty in return.

The concerns we hear most clearly include:

    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

These are not small things. They touch the core of what Ashes of Creation is meant to be: a living, player-driven MMORPG where your time, effort, and choices matter. We are actively working on these areas, and many of them are deeply interconnected - solving one often requires structural changes across multiple systems. That work is underway.

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.

To ensure we can speak clearly and thoroughly about what’s next, we’ve moved our upcoming Development Update on Twitch to February 13, 2026 at 11:00 AM Pacific. In that update, we will walk through our Q1 plans and outline the next steps for Ashes of Creation - what we’re prioritizing, why those choices matter, and how they connect to the issues you’re experiencing today.

You’ve joined us on a journey, not a finished road. That doesn’t mean you should accept broken systems or unclear direction - it means you are part of a process that requires iteration of a world in the making. We are grateful for your patience and passion. It comes from a place of care.

Verra is still growing. We remain deeply committed to making it a world worthy of your time, your stories, and your belief.

Thank you for walking this path with us.

With respect and gratitude,

The Ashes of Creation Team