Ashes of Creation CancelledThe most funded MMO on Kickstarter just collapsed in days. The founder resigned, 250 staff weren’t paid, and a mystery buyer may have killed the whole thing. – Bellular Ruin Gaming’s Conclusion of Operations in Ashes of Creation Recent developments at Intrepid Studios have led to a complete loss of confidence in the project’s viability. Following the Early Access launch on Steam in December 2025, the game faced escalating turmoil: Founder and CEO Steven Sharif resigned on January 31, 2026, “in protest” over board decisions he deemed unethical, amid reports of mass layoffs. The studio’s leadership team followed suit, quitting in protest, with the entire development team reportedly laid off or fired by early February. Steam has removed the game from sale and is investigating, effectively halting operations. While Alpha Two testing continued into mid-January with patches and a new realm launch, these events signal the project’s effective cancellation. In light of this instability, Ruin Gaming has officially concluded all operations in Ashes of Creation. Our resources will refocus on established and promising titles, including Star Citizen, where Ruinous [RUINOUS] continues to build a professional PMC force. Updated Brief: The Collapse of Ashes of Creation and Ruin Gaming’s Conclusion of Operations Ashes of Creation was launched as a 2017 Kickstarter campaign that raised over $3.2 million—the highest amount ever secured for an MMO on the platform at that time—under the leadership of founder and creative director Steven Sharif, who repeatedly emphasized that the project was self-funded, free of investor influence, and controlled without a board in order to protect his vision for a dynamic, player-driven sandbox MMO featuring innovative node-based world progression, faction warfare, large-scale PvP, combined arms combat, and deep housing and economic systems. Over the subsequent eight years the project progressed through multiple alpha phases starting in 2021, offering premium backers hands-on access in exchange for pledges that ranged from modest amounts to packages costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars. A battle royale spin-off was released in 2018 to test mechanics but was quietly discontinued by 2020, while the main MMO continued to receive incremental updates that showcased promising elements such as naval combat, siege warfare, and player-constructed towns, yet consistently struggled with scope creep, optimization issues, sparse quest content, heavy reliance on mob grinding for leveling, and delays that pushed meaningful endgame systems further and further out. Ruin Gaming maintained only a limited, observational community presence in Ashes of Creation—primarily through guild planning discussions, freehold development previews, and occasional updates shared on ruinnation.com—always treating the title as a high-risk alpha-stage project that, even under the most optimistic evaluation, would require several additional years of focused development, content polishing, and technical refinement before it could realistically achieve a stable, enjoyable launch state. That cautious stance proved prescient when the project collapsed in late January 2026. Following a Steam Early Access release in December 2025 that positioned the still-alpha game as a paid product, it received mixed-to-negative reviews citing incomplete systems and a lack of meaningful progression beyond grinding. Within weeks Intrepid Studios encountered severe financial distress, evidenced by an $850,000 unpaid cloud services lien, outstanding insurance debts, and an inability to meet payroll. Initial layoffs of nine staff escalated rapidly: on January 31 Sharif publicly resigned “in protest” against what he described as unethical directives from a newly revealed board—including mass layoffs and plans to offshore production—while most of the senior leadership team followed suit. A California WARN notice confirmed the permanent closure affecting 123 remaining employees, with widespread reports indicating the entire ~250-person development team was terminated without severance, accrued PTO, or final paychecks. Public corporate filings prior to the crisis listed Sharif as sole director with no board, directly contradicting his earlier assurances and fueling speculation that a private equity firm had quietly acquired control, then abandoned any skeleton-crew continuation in favor of full shutdown, potentially to offload liabilities while retaining the intellectual property as an asset. Steam removed the game from sale shortly thereafter, with refund outcomes inconsistent—some players receiving store credit as a goodwill gesture despite exceeding standard playtime thresholds—while the servers remain minimally online with no active development. In light of this abrupt and total breakdown—marked by financial mismanagement, leadership exodus, unpaid staff, unresolved debts, and the apparent dissolution of the studio—Ruin Gaming has officially concluded all operations and engagement with Ashes of Creation. The instability has completely eroded any remaining confidence in the project’s future, and resources are now fully redirected toward stable, actively progressing titles such as Star Citizen, where Ruinous [RUINOUS] continues to operate as a professional, structured PMC organization focused on Naval fleet operations, Marine ground and boarding actions, Combined Arms strategy, resource management, and large-scale PvP. Ruin extends sincere sympathy to the affected developers who invested years of effort and to the backers and players who placed hope and funds into the vision. We remain committed to fostering a transparent, community-driven environment and encourage members to exercise caution with crowdfunded or early-stage projects that carry similar high-risk profiles. For continued operations, events, and discussion across our active games, please join us on Discord at https://discord.com/invite/ruin.
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