Ashes of Creation is an upcoming sandboxmassively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Intrepid Studios. It was announced in 2016 and gained recognition through a Kickstarter campaign, meeting its goal of $750,000 in under 12 hours and eventually raising over $3 million. It features a dynamic system of world building, where players' actions directly contribute to the layout of the game world.
Ashes of Creation was released in early access on Steam on December 11, 2025. On January 31, 2026, creative director and studio co-founder Steven Sharif resigned from Intrepid, followed by additional resignations from the senior design team and a mass layoff of studio employees.
Gameplay
Players can pick from a range of races and classes. Initially, the player creates their character and picks one of the nine races. These consist of Kaelar or Vaelune Human, Empyrean or Py'rai Elf, Ren'kai or Vek Orc, Dünir or Niküa Dwarf, and the Tulnar. The players will also pick one of the eight primary archetypes which consist of Tank, Cleric, Mage, Fighter, Rogue, Ranger, Bard, and Summoner. Upon reaching level 25, the player can pick a secondary archetype from the initial list creating a combination of 64 possible class combinations.[1]
Ashes of Creation features a player driven world building mechanic. As players play, designated regions will dynamically form, known as nodes. As more individuals play in that region these nodes can eventually turn into towns or cities, allowing for land development, a housing system, and a player driven political system.[2] Dynamic PvE events will occur within the nodes and how players interact with the events will impact their development. For example, if players fail to address goblins in the area, their settlement will continue to grow and have a further impact on the area. NPCs in the node may react to these changes and develop hatred for the mobs as well.[citation needed]
Setting
Ashes of Creation is set in the fictional medieval high-fantasy world of Verra. This world features a diverse range of biomes, both based on the real world, such as snow, jungles, plains, etc. and biomes created by Intrepid such as corrupted areas and the Underrealm.[3]
Development
Intrepid Studios, based in San Diego, California,[4] announced Ashes of Creation on December 10, 2016, in a blogpost on the official website.[5][6] Game development is primarily funded by Intrepid Studios founder Steven Sharif.[7]
In June 2017, a Kickstarter campaign was launched for Ashes of Creation. According to Intrepid Studios, crowdfunding was decided on to "connect directly with the players most invested in our success".[8] The Kickstarter campaign met its initial funding target of $750,000 in less than 12 hours, eventually raising over $3.25 million from over 19,000 backers by the end of the campaign,[9] making it one of the fastest and highest funded projects on the platform.[8] The Kickstarter campaign drew criticism due to its use of a referral program that rewarded players with premium game credits or cash when referring others to donate to the Kickstarter campaign. Despite it being against Kickstarter rules, the referral program continued and no action was taken against the campaign.[10] By July 2018, 500,000 users had registered accounts on the official website and 40,000 had purchased access to the alpha and beta versions.[9]
In August 2018, Intrepid Studios came to an agreement with publisher My.com for the rights to publish the game in EU and CIS regions.[11] When players voiced concerns regarding creative control, My.com's Voker Boenigk published a statement that Intrepid would retain full control over the direction of the game. In August 2020, My.com and Intrepid parted ways, and the studio would instead self-publish in those regions.[12]
In December 2018, a free battle royale game, Ashes of Creation: Apocalypse, was released by Intrepid Studios.[13] The game was released as "a testing ground for new systems and content" according to the studio, as well as showcase the work that has been completed since the Kickstarter campaign ended. While the game was free, it did include options to purchase cosmetic items[14] and any cosmetic items that were earned in Apocalypse would transfer to the main game once it released. In September 2019, the game was released for free on Steam.[15]Ashes of Creation: Apocalypse was taken offline on March 10, 2020.[16]
On May 27, 2021, it was announced that lead game designer Jeffrey Bard would be leaving the project, and on September 17, 2021, Wynne McLaughlin, lead writer for games such as Elder Scrolls Online, had been hired by Intrepid as a senior narrative designer.[17]
Originally scheduled to start in June, Ashes of Creation began its first closed alpha playtest period on July 14, 2021. The alpha was available for players who purchased a $500 pre-order package and was subject to a non-disclosure agreement. The first alpha period was open until August 15, 2021. A second alpha period was set for Q3 of 2024.[citation needed]
In December 2021, Intrepid Studio announced that it would be switching the game engine from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 to allow for faster development and to take advantage of additional tools available in the newer engine.[18]
The game is planned to have a $15 a month subscription model with no upfront cost.[19]
Starting on December 11, 2025, Ashes of Creation became available on Steam as an early access release in Alpha II testing.[20]
Referral program
The Ashes of Creation referral program is an incentive system designed to reward players for referring new participants to the game. After registration, players can request a personal referral code to share with friends. When new players sign up using a referral link or code, the referring player earns 15% of the referred person's ongoing account purchases as Intrepid Bucks. These virtual credits can be used within the game's marketplace to purchase cosmetics, services, or other in-game items.[21]
Layoffs and resignations
In a Reddit post on January 22, 2026, creative director and studio co-founder Steven Sharif addressed rumors of a layoff at Intrepid Studios, stating that nine out of 250 employees at Intrepid were impacted by "targeted team adjustments" and assuring that the layoff was "not a reflection of the health or future of Ashes of Creation".[22] A notice was posted to the studio's website on January 29,[23] which promised to address several issues and delayed an upcoming development update stream on Twitch to February 13.[24][25]
On January 31, 2026, Steven Sharif announced his resignation from Intrepid Studios in a message posted on Discord, citing an internal feud between creative leaders and the studio's board of directors. Sharif stated that he resigned "in protest" of actions directed by studio's board which he "could not ethically agree with or carry out".[23] Sharif said that members of the senior leadership team also resigned following his departure, after which the board issued WARN Act notices to the staff and issued a mass layoff.[26][27][28]
The day after Sharif's Discord message, several Intrepid employees posted on LinkedIn that they were no longer with the company, with some describing the mass layoff as the result of a complete closure of the game studio.[25][23][4] Former director of communications[29] Margaret Krohn later said that Intrepid Studios had shut down, that WARN notices were sent to "the entire studio", and that employees would not be receiving their final paychecks among other owed compensation.[30]
Ashes of Creation was removed from sale on Steam on February 2, 2026.[31]
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