Quick Read
- Steven Sharif, director of Intrepid Studios, resigned ‘in protest’ over board decisions on January 31, 2026.
- Mass layoffs have affected the development team of the MMORPG Ashes of Creation, confirmed by former Director of Communications Margaret Krohn.
- The game, which raised $3.2 million on Kickstarter, launched on Steam Early Access in December 2025 to ‘Mixed’ reviews.
- Public records show Intrepid Studios’ board consists solely of Steven Sharif and his husband, John Moore.
- Reports indicate a WARN Act letter was sent to staff, suggesting the studio may close by February 2, 2026, due to an inability to meet payroll.
LOS ANGELES (Azat TV) – Intrepid Studios, the developer behind the ambitious massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Ashes of Creation, is in turmoil following the resignation of its director, Steven Sharif, who stated he stepped down “in protest” of board decisions. The dramatic development, which unfolded over the past week, was quickly followed by reports of mass layoffs affecting a significant portion of the development team, raising serious questions about the future of the game nine years after its successful $3.2 million Kickstarter campaign.
Leadership Turmoil and Mass Departures at Intrepid Studios
The crisis at Intrepid Studios escalated rapidly, culminating in Steven Sharif’s public statement on Saturday, January 31, 2026. Sharif, who had personally invested in the project alongside its crowdfunding, claimed that control of the company had shifted away from him, leading to board-directed actions he “could not ethically agree with or carry out.” His subsequent resignation, he said, was “in protest” of these decisions, preventing him from lending his name or authority to policies he deemed unethical. Following his departure, much of the senior leadership team also resigned.
The resignations were quickly followed by widespread confirmation of mass layoffs. Margaret Krohn, Intrepid’s long-standing Director of Communications, posted on LinkedIn that her time with the studio had ended, stating that the “amazing dev team was all laid off.” Her emotional message urged players to “be kind to the developers, we are people who have families who have just lost our jobs after pouring our hearts and souls into Ashes of Creation.” Other former developers, including senior environment artist Adam Anthony, senior character artist Jessica Jennings, QA engineer Keith McAvoy, and animator Brad Constantine, also confirmed their departures, with many marking themselves “open to work” on LinkedIn. Anthony referred to the situation as “the closing of Intrepid Studios.”
A Decade of Development Faces Scrutiny
Ashes of Creation was first announced in 2016 and secured over $3.2 million in pledges through its Kickstarter campaign in 2017. The project was known for its ambitious scope and a lengthy development cycle, including a significant engine switch from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 in late 2021. Despite being in an ongoing alpha phase with a substantial roadmap ahead, Intrepid Studios made the unexpected decision to launch the MMORPG on Steam Early Access in December 2025.
This early launch, while the game was still technically in alpha, was met with a “Mixed” reception on Steam, with user reviews currently sitting at 51% positive. According to SteamDB, the game reached a concurrent player peak of 31,800 at launch, which has since dwindled. Sales estimates for the Steam Early Access period range between 220,000 and 320,000 units, translating to an estimated gross revenue of $11 million to $16 million. After Valve’s 30% cut, the studio’s net earnings from Steam were between $7.7 million and $11.2 million, according to Wccftech.
Community Frustration and Opaque Governance
Prior to the resignations and layoffs, a tense atmosphere had developed within the Ashes of Creation community. Players noted Steven Sharif’s diminished presence on the game’s Discord channel and expressed frustration following a mysterious “director’s letter” published on Thursday, January 29. This letter, unsigned by Sharif, addressed issues like RMT, bots, cheating, and bugs, but failed to provide the reassurance about the game’s future that players were seeking. Its dramatic phrasing, such as “Foundations must sometimes be reworked, so what comes next can stand strong,” only fueled speculation.
Further complicating the narrative of board decisions, public records from the State of California indicate that Intrepid Studios’ board consists solely of Steven Sharif, listed as CEO and Secretary, and his husband, John Moore, who serves as Chief Financial Officer. This suggests that the “board decisions” Sharif protested were made by a very small, closely related group. Sharif stated he could not speak to further details due to “ongoing legal and governance matters.”
Uncertainty Looms for Ashes of Creation
The situation deepened with reports of a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act letter being sent to staff. According to content creator Theory Forge, who reviewed part of the notice, the letter reportedly stated that Intrepid Studios could not meet its recent payroll period and indicated a potential studio closure by the end of business on Monday, February 2, 2026. This follows a previous, smaller layoff earlier in the month affecting nine employees.
Despite the widespread departures and reports of imminent closure, Ashes of Creation remains available on Steam in Early Access. Intrepid Studios has a “development update livestream” currently scheduled for Friday, February 13. However, with the core development team laid off and the director having resigned in protest, the nature and content of this update remain highly uncertain.
The abrupt implosion of Intrepid Studios and the uncertain fate of Ashes of Creation underscore the inherent risks and complexities of long-term, crowdfunded game development, particularly when internal governance issues and financial pressures converge, potentially eroding years of community trust and developer effort.