Gaming: 2 Days After Promising It Was Still 'worthy Of Your Investment,'...
Early access MMO Ashes of Creation has reportedly ceased development, and the entire team behind it at Intrepid Studios has been laid off. With nearly $3.3 million raised in a 2017 campaign, Ashes of Creation was the crowdfunding platform's most successful MMO fundraiser, and one of its most successful videogame campaigns overall.
On Saturday, January 31, the game's official Discord was abuzz over rumored firings and resignations at Intrepid. Community lead Margaret Krohn revealed she had been laid off on LinkedIn, and in reply to a comment on the post, Krohn wrote: "I don't know how they would make it when the heart and soul of the product, the amazing dev team, was all laid off."
Intrepid founder and former creative director, Steven Sharif, offered more explanation in the face of the panic and speculation on the Discord server. "I can make a limited statement in my personal capacity and not on behalf of the company, regarding the situation," Sharif wrote. "Control of the company shifted away from me, and the Board began directing actions that I could not ethically agree with or carry out. As a result, I chose to resign in protest rather than lend my name or authority to decisions I could not ethically support. Following my resignation, much of the senior leadership team resigned. Following those departures, the Board made the decision to issue WARN Act notices and proceed with a mass layoff.
"I cannot responsibly speak to further details at this time due to ongoing legal and governance matters. What I can say is that the developers and staff acted in good faith and deserved better than the uncertainty they are now facing. I am incredibly dismayed by the situation."
The cancellation follows five years of closed backer Alphas, growing discontent among players, and a number of core issues that appear to have grown acute in the past year. Ashes of Creation was not doing well, but all signs point to the final cancellation/layoff decision having been shockingly abrupt.
On January 29, "A Director's Letter to the Citizens of Verra" was shared to the Ashes of Creation website. The post acknowledged long-simmering issues like bots, cheating, bugs, and poor performance, but promised a continued commitment to building "something ambitious, durable, and worthy of your investment." Intrepid also announced a February 13 development update stream to "walk through our Q1 plans and outline the next steps for Ashes of Creation."
"Verra is still growing," the post con
Source: PC Gamer
