Ex-Intrepid comms director shares timeline of Ashes of Creation studio shutdown and unpaid wages claims

Ashes of Creation developer Intrepid Studios is still in limbo, and now the studio’s former Director of Communications, Margaret Krohn, has posted her own account of how things unraveled in late January. In a public statement, Krohn says leadership was first told layoffs were coming on January 28, before the situation escalated into a full studio shutdown days later.

In the statement, Krohn says she was informed toward the end of the workday on January 28 that layoffs were pending, but that there was no clarity on who would be affected. She says she privately warned her Game Services team on January 29, and by the end of that day she had confirmation on which members of her team were impacted. Krohn adds that she spoke with team members individually on January 30 so they could prepare.

According to Krohn, everything changed on January 31, when staff were told via what she describes as a confusing email that the entire studio was being laid off, alongside a WARN notice. She also claims employees will not receive money they’re owed, including final paychecks, WARN Act-related pay, and PTO payouts. Krohn’s full thread is available in her social media statement.

The wider situation first blew up publicly over the weekend, with earlier reports claiming co-founder and creative director Steven Sharif resigned “in protest” over board decisions, followed by Sharif later asking the community for patience while legal filings were pending.

As of this writing, there still hasn’t been an official statement from Intrepid addressing the shutdown or the pay allegations. Ashes of Creation has also been pulled from Steam’s storefront, though the game’s servers were still live and playable at the time of their report. Numerous players have reported that they were able to get a refund despite playing past the refund window.