Ashes of Creation’s Steven Sharif says his “next action” will be a public filing amid studio turmoil

Ashes of Creation is dealing with a messy weekend of reports and rumors around Intrepid Studios, including claims of resignations and layoffs. Former creative director Steven Sharif has now responded in the game’s official Discord, but he’s not offering specifics yet. Instead, he says he plans to make a public filing that he believes will clarify what happened. We do know that Steven himself has resigned from the company as per his own Discord message.

In one message, Sharif wrote that he has already “made a public statement,” and that his “next action will be a public filing.” According to Sharif, that filing should provide “a better understanding” of events. In a follow-up post, he told players to hold off on drawing conclusions until more facts are available, adding that the legal process requires patience. Both messages were posted in the official Discord, including one reply where he explicitly references the upcoming filing.

All of this comes after Sharif said over the weekend that he and much of the senior leadership team resigned “in protest” over actions taken by Intrepid’s board, while employees were reportedly learning their roles were being terminated. This seems odd considering as far as the community knew, Sharif and his husband were the sole board members.

Separately, MMO YouTuber KiraTV published a video claiming Intrepid Studios was sold to a private equity firm and describing what he says was an initial plan to downsize before shifting to a full studio layoff. The report also repeats claims that some workers may not be receiving payroll, PTO payouts, bonuses, or severance. These claims have not been publicly confirmed by Intrepid.

As of the report’s publication, Intrepid Studios had not made a public statement about the situation or what it means for Ashes of Creation servers. The game is not currently available to buy on Steam, but servers were still accessible at the time, along with the in-game shop.