Although the second phase of Alpha Two in Ashes of Creation is still ongoing, there have been fresh servers and an influx of interested testers. Both in combination led to an impressive success, which according to studio head Steven Sharif, no other game in Unreal Engine 5 has managed to achieve.
What is this success? In an interview in March, Steven Sharif, the head of Intrepid Studios, had already reported that by December 2024, they had successfully created around 6,000 characters on one of the Alpha servers of Ashes of Creation.
With the launch of the new Fresh-Start server Shol and further invitations for the current phase of Alpha Two, they were able to significantly increase this number by May 3, 2025. In the official Discord channel, Steven Sharif explained that at peak times, more than 8,000 Alpha testers were present on the new server.
He further stated that no other game known to use Unreal Engine 5 has achieved anything comparable. However, the enormous number of players naturally caused problems, which according to the developer were mainly triggered by bugs related to core systems such as crafting, events, or combat.
They would be using the next few days to fix the identified bugs and issues, while the server remains online and can thus provide additional data. The goal is, according to Steven Sharif, to create a stable foundation for the start of the third phase of Alpha Two in August 2025 – both gameplay-wise and technically.
One of the recent trailers of Ashes of Creation introduces the new rogue class:
More than just graphic power
Initial struggles of UE5: Unreal Engine 5 has been available since April 2022, and anyone who approaches the provider Epic Games receives a comprehensive package for developing modern, visually appealing games – technologies like Nanite, Virtual Shadow Maps, and Lumen make it possible.
A major advantage of the engine: In UE5, multiple developers can work simultaneously on a part of the game. This was not possible in the previous engine. Especially the creation of larger worlds is supposed to be easier – a significant advantage when developing an MMORPG.
As great as all this sounds, many games using Unreal Engine 5 have had a mixed start in the first years. The reboot of Lords of the Fallen and also Immortals of Aveum, for example, look great, no question, but came with unusually high system requirements and technical issues like crashes, performance drops, or regular graphical errors.
Three years ago, the developers of Ashes of Creation showcased their game in Unreal Engine 5 for the first time:
Why is this milestone so important? At times, there were concerns due to problematic releases that Unreal Engine 5 might not be a good choice for MMORPGs that want to deliver a certain number of players on the servers, smooth performance, and modern graphics.
Especially if one wants to reach an audience on non-high-end PCs or consoles. That would be bad news, as various upcoming online role-playing games like Chrono Odyssey, ArcheAge 2, or Aion 2 utilize UE5.
With the current milestone, however, Ashes of Creation now shows that it is indeed possible to develop such an ambitious MMORPG in UE5 if enough time is invested in the technical foundation to adapt the engine to one’s needs.
And the fact that such a stress test is already taking place now, many months before the final launch, is invaluable. Because now the developers have more than enough time to continue refining the technical foundation, fixing bugs, and optimizing performance. The game that has not done this yet, but aims to release much earlier than Ashes of Creation, is: There is finally a sign of life from one of the most important and beautiful MMORPGs of 2025
