News of the possible closure of Ashes of Creation developer Intrepid Studios hit over the weekend, leaving the highly-anticipated MMORPG in limbo, with no official word on whether the game will continue (although, with the reported leaks, it seems doubtful).
Ashes of Creation began development with a Kickstarter campaign in 2017, and ended up raising over $3.2 million. The game launched in Early Access last month for $50. A month later, Intrepid Studios director Steven Sharif took to Discord to announce the studio's demise.
A new fantasy MMORPG on Steam may be facing a possible shutdown
One of Steam's latest fantasy MMORPGs may be shutting down less than two months after the game's early access launch on the platform.
Where does this leave early investors?
Crowdfunded games missing the mark and shutting down soon after launch is not exactly an unprecedented situation.
In 2023, the highly-anticipated The Day Before – a zombie survival game – turned out to be completely different from what the developers initially advertised. It started out as one of Steam's most anticipated titles, only to shut down its servers and issue refunds after release. Steam also removed the option to purchase games.
In that instance, Steam issued a refund. It stands to reason that with Ashes of Creation taking a similar launch, players can probably expect refunds to be issued. Steam officials did not respond to emails from GameRant about the situation.
The day before the overwhelmingly negative reviews on Steam started
Fans are unhappy with Fantastic's The Day Before, criticizing the studio for false advertising and accusing the multiplayer shooter of being a 'scam'.
However, it seems that players are reporting their requests for refunds.
“Attempted to apply for a refund 3 times, got rejected, tried to get a human to review on the 4th and final attempt and got a human reply! W Steam!” one player wrote on Reddit. They clarified that they had 10 hours of play time, which is beyond the standard two hour limit. Another player commented, “Yeah, I don't think I'll be accepted with 200 hours.
According to Steam's return policy, pre-release purchases still adhere to the two-hour playtime return limit, but the 14-day return window doesn't begin until the game officially launches.
For Early or Advanced Access titles, all playtime counts toward the two-hour cap, while pre-purchased games that are unplayable can be returned at any time before release, with standard return rules applying after the game is launched.
For Kickstarter investors, the return situation is less clear. On the game's Kickstarter page, there's a note at the end that refunds will be issued if the game doesn't launch.
The question for early investors is: does early access qualify as an official launch? This is certainly somewhat of a gray area. GameRant reached out to Intrepid Studios for clarification, but the studio has yet to respond.
There's no official word on whether Ashes of Creation will continue to be developed, nor is there any official word on whether the studio is actually shutting down. These are the circumstances that Steam may consider when looking at refund requests.
Early access players navigate uncertainty
Several Intrepid Studios employees took to LinkedIn to announce their departures from the studio, with a handful of others updating their profiles to “looking for work.” Even without an official announcement, there seems to be some sort of sudden shakeup at the studio.
The last official communication was a post on the Ashes of Creation website listing the quality of life issues the developers planned to address.
Some may see this as part of the trade-off for early access: participating in the game while it's still in development, essentially driving the car while the mechanic builds it.
In any case, it's a difficult situation – both for players who bought in the hope of finally getting a finished experience, and for developers who invested time and effort in a project that didn't go smoothly. In the coming days, updates or retractions may provide some clarity or relief for both parties.
