The future of Ashes of Creation is in shambles after a handful of events that occurred over the last 48 hours. Below is a quick update for those catching up:
- Steven Sharif (previous Creative Director for Ashes of Creation) resigned and left the company. He shared a statement regarding his reasoning behind this below. Whether or not these reasons are correct is still not confirmed.
- As a result of Sharif resigning, he shared that many of the senior leadership team resigned with him. Following those resignations, the board made the decision to issue WARN Act notices and proceed with a mass layoff, impacting a majority (potentially all) employees at Intrepid Studios.
- Since these actions, a range of rumors, thoughts, and accusations have been flooding social media and the official Ashes of Creation Discord channel.
Earlier today (February 1, 2026), Sharif began to respond to some of these accusations and theories on the Discord channel with the following statement:
“I have made a public statement. My next action will be a public filing. I hope at that point people have a better understanding of what happened.”
Additionally, he stated, “Wait until there are more facts available before forming conclusions like this. The internet isn’t kind to patience, but unfortunately the legal process requires it. You cannot imagine how difficult it is for me to stay quiet. But I must. When filings become public, there will be a clearer factual record to reference.”
Hopefully this public filing truly will shed more light on the development process of Ashes of Creation, and the true intentions behind the development of the game as a whole.
Stay tuned for more updates on the status of Ashes of Creation.
