Ashes of Creation CEO Reflects on 2023 and Acknowledges the 'Challenges' in the Industry

mmorpg.com:

In an end of year missive on the official Ashes of Creation Discord, CEO Steven Sharif shared his thoughts on the strides and popularity of Ashes of Creation while noting that all was not well with game development this past year.

Sharif’s message rounds out Intrepid’s year, noting that next year is shaping up to be the most exciting to date, with the announcement of Alpha 2 slated for Q3 (which is actually quite long time away considering some expected to see Alpha 2 this year). At this point, the development team has swelled to over 170 developers, marking a significant expansion as the team barrels through to Alpha 2 and hopefully a beta state before too long.

The community response has been both a benchmark and boon to the team at Intrepid as Sharif notes that the enthusiasm players show through their constant encouragement has brought the team to where they are today. However, Sharif mentions that the industry itself has had some setbacks, explaining that they stand with those experiencing the massive layoffs that we’ve reported on several times throughout the past year. He also states that Intrepid has attempted to help by offering a ‘home to those eager for a new MMO’, though how this translates to aiding in rehoming the developers looking for a new project is not yet clear. Sharif does mention that Intrepid aims to continue their growth throughout 2024, so we can only hope that means that they will be looking to hire some of those laid off next year.

Judging by their 2022 growth doubling from 2021, it’s clear that there may be some hope for those looking for a new job. 2024 will mark Intrepid’s 7^th year in development, which also will note the end of Pre-order packs, that the team plans to stop selling on January 17