The MMORPG Ashes of Creation, which had been in alpha access on Steam after many years of development, is experiencing a collapse. The Intrepid Studios team either resigned or was dismissed, despite recent updates and promises of improvements.
On the game's Discord server, founder and creative director Steven Sharif stated:
Control of the company was taken away from me, and the Board began making decisions that I could not ethically agree with. I left in protest, and after my departure most of the leadership also left the project. The Board decided to carry out mass layoffs.
Because of the company's financial situation, the salary scheduled for February 1 will not be paid, which will likely lead to lawsuits. On Steam, the game is still available for £41.99 ($49.99), and according to SteamDB it has been purchased by up to 319,000 people — approximately $14 million.
Users are calling the situation an "early access scam" and are demanding compensation. Kickstarter included a clause that if the game did not release on Steam, all funds would be refunded — the release took place, so formally the promise was fulfilled.
