Ambitious MMORPG Ashes of Creation is apparently being shut down after its main designer resigned and its entire team was subsequently laid off.

Originally announced back in 2016 and crowdfunded in 2017 with over $3.25 million dollars, Ashes of Creation was first playable in a closed alpha back in 2021. After this it changed game engines from Unreal Engine 4 to 5, and then released its second alpha via Steam in 2025.

Now, the game is seemingly shutting down with its founder and CEO, Steven Sharif, resigning in protest against decisions made by the company’s board of directors. A new message posted by Sharif on the game’s official Discord server noted he resigned after the board acted in ways he couldn’t ethically agree with.

Shortly after Sharif resigned most of the game’s senior leadership also resigned, which prompted the board to issue a WARN Act and proceed with a “mass layoff.” This likely means the entire team of 200+ developers have all been laid off as well, effectively shutting down the game entirely.

For those unfamiliar with industry terms – the 1988 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act mandates any employer must notify their workers at least 60 days in advance of mass layoffs. It remains unclear when the company notified employees but regardless, it sounds like the entire team is being laid off.

Here’s the full message from Sharif:

I can make a limited statement in my personal capacity and not on behalf of the company, regarding the situation. 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.

— Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation is currently sitting with mostly mixed reviews on Steam, though it’s worth mentioning it has over 13,000 reviews and most of them are positive – the negative reviews have been more frequent recently.