Ashes of Creation
$3,271,809 has been raised by Ashes of Creation on Kickstarter in 2017. No other MMO was as successful there, not even Star Citizen. And this, even though there was neither a known universe nor a leading, renowned developer behind AoC – as was the case with many other Kickstarter successes.
Instead, Steven Sharif lured with an exciting promise: There would be no external investors or a publisher to whom they would be accountable. Instead, they wanted to commit only to the players in order to self-finance the best possible MMORPG. The basis for this would be Sharif’s wealth, who wishes to fulfill a personal dream with this project.
Now, with the knowledge of today, this promise from back then has aged very poorly. It has been proven that there were indeed investors who, at a certain point, had influence on the project. Such a significant influence that in January 2026, out of nowhere, came the end of Ashes of Creation and Intrepid Studios.
The Kickstarter success of 2017 impressively demonstrates how important it is to many players that their new hopeful MMORPG is developed without external influence from any outside funders who only have profit maximization in mind. The big question now is whether one would still believe such a promise after Ashes of Creation …
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!