Ashes of Creation Developer Intrepid Studios Faces Crisis After Founder Stephen Sharif Departs
The Intrepid Studios crisis reached its peak when founder Stephen Sharif departed the company during mass staff reductions. The development team behind the MMORPG Ashes of Creation currently experiences intense internal conflicts, which affect their game creation process. The studio experienced its first major staffing loss when its founder left the company after the game launched its early access phase on December 11, 2025. The project failed to achieve its financial targets after the internal team released the project according to schedule.
The company lost its game director and founder Stephen Sharif when he decided to leave his position. Sharif claimed he resigned from his position because board members took control of the company. Sharif claims the board issued commands that resulted in his termination yet he cannot explain details because of legal and managerial restrictions.
The founder’s exit led to multiple important staff members deciding to leave across the company. The new management team initiated extensive staff reductions throughout the remaining workforce in reaction to their situation. Former staff members report that the studio completed staff reductions without making January salary payments, which worsened the studio’s financial situation.
Players became doubtful about the studio’s integrity after it suddenly closed its operations one month following their product launch. Backers and players believe that project leaders intentionally mismanaged their project. Multiple reasons contributed to these claims
- Board Discrepancies Sharif declared in 2020 that the studio lacked any board members yet December 2025 records show him as the only existing board member.
- Refund Loophole The project’s Kickstarter terms promised refunds only if the game failed to launch on Steam. Because Ashes of Creation did launch on the platform briefly before the studio’s current crisis many backers now find themselves ineligible for refunds.
The studio’s activities will continue until February 2026, when the company will halt all significant work because of recent developments.
