Ashes of Creation Lawsuit: Former CEO Breaks Silence After Legal Victory
The $3.2 million Kickstarter MMO was pulled from Steam last month. Now, the battle for its source code is heading to federal court.
It has been a devastating month for the Ashes of Creation community. After raising $3.2 million on Kickstarter and launching to massive hype, the MMORPG shockingly imploded just two months later. By February 2, the game was pulled from Steam, developers were laid off without their final paychecks, and allegations of financial fraud began to surface.
Through it all, former Intrepid Studios CEO Steven Sharif remained completely silent all the way up until now.
In a lengthy statement posted to the official Ashes of Creation Discord server, Sharif revealed that his silence was a calculated legal strategy, and he has just scored his first major victory against Intrepid’s Board of Directors.
The Lawsuit Against the Board
According to Sharif’s Discord statement, he has filed a lawsuit against Intrepid’s Board of Directors—specifically naming Chair Rob Dawson and affiliated entity TFE Games Holdings LLC—on behalf of the studio’s shareholders.
Sharif is accusing the board of multiple severe offenses, including:
- Breaches of fiduciary duty.
- Violations of federal and state trade secret laws.
- Wrongful efforts to seize company assets and valuable IP through an “unlawful and manufactured insider foreclosure.”
“My lawsuit is the result of Rob Dawson and his agents trying to dismantle the company I founded and built alongside our community,” Sharif explained to the Discord server. He claims the board attempted to repurpose Ashes of Creation for their own enrichment while orchestrating a public campaign to shift the blame for the studio’s collapse onto him.
The Federal Restraining Order
Sharif didn’t just post accusations; he brought receipts. He shared a temporary restraining order (TRO) granted on March 4 by Judge Lopez in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
This TRO is a massive blow to the current board. It legally forbids the defendants from “accessing, using, selling, distributing, or causing anyone to access, use, sell, or distribute the trade secrets of Intrepid.” Crucially, this includes the source code for Ashes of Creation.
What Happens Next?
For players hoping the game might suddenly return to Steam, the wait is going to be long. The game’s code is effectively frozen under federal lock and key.
A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for March 18, where the future of the IP will be heavily debated.
“What happens next will ultimately be decided in court,” Sharif concluded. “But I will not allow the work of hundreds of developers and the belief of millions of players to be erased by a small group of individuals who attempted to take control of something they did not create.”
Sarah’s Take: As someone who covers the volatile MMO industry, seeing a Kickstarter project of this magnitude end up in federal court is heartbreaking for the backers. While Sharif’s TRO is a strong first step in securing the game’s code, the reality is that the unpaid developers are the true victims here. We will be watching the March 18 hearing closely, keep an eye on the latest news on Raidenza!
