Ashes of Creation reportedly canceled as Intrepid Studios lays off its entire team

Early access MMO Ashes of Creation has reportedly ceased development and Intrepid Studios has laid off its entire team, community posts and staff social media indicated. The game raised nearly $3.3 million on Kickstarter in 2017, making it the crowdfunding platform's most successful MMO fundraiser.

On January 29 a “Director's Letter to the Citizens of Verra” acknowledged long‑running issues such as "bots, cheating, bugs, and poor performance" and pledged a continued commitment to building "something ambitious, durable, and worthy of your investment." The post also announced a February 13 development update stream to "walk through our Q1 plans and outline the next steps for Ashes of Creation." On January 31 the game's official Discord was said to be abuzz with rumored firings and resignations.

Community lead Margaret Krohn revealed on LinkedIn that she had been laid off, and wrote in reply to a comment, "I don't know how they would make it when the heart and soul of the product, the amazing dev team, was all laid off." The Director's Letter is titled in a way that implies CEO Steven Sharif's authorship but signs off from "the Ashes of Creation Team." PC Gamer noted the apparent layoffs came shortly after that pledge to continue development, and said the timing gives the impression the team was still working and planning up until resignations and layoffs.

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