The developers of Ashes of Creation have postponed the launch of the third phase of Alpha Two for the second time. For many genre fans, it seems clear: The MMORPG will never be released in a reasonable state.
What is behind the postponement? On July 25, 2025, the developers of Ashes of Creation moved the date for phase 3 of Alpha Two from August 4 to August 26, 2025. This is the second postponement of phase 3. It was originally supposed to start on May 1.
The responsible parties also explain the second postponement by stating that they want to take enough time to launch the next Alpha phase with sufficient refinement and optimizations.
Compared to the currently running phase 2, Ashes of Creation is expected to take a significant step forward with the upcoming milestone and offer significantly more content – for example, a second starting area, additional races, and comprehensive adjustments or expansions for core areas such as economy, crafting, and nodes.
The Rogue is the latest class from Ashes of Creation:
Skepticism dominates the comments section
How does the community react to the postponement? Certainly, there are fans who appreciate that the developers are taking an additional 3 weeks to optimally prepare the ambitious MMORPG for phase 3. However, in a current discussion by reps_up on Reddit, many harshly criticize the postponement and the entire project.
- BroxigarZ writes on Reddit: “I have said this a million times, and I will continue to say it – Ashes of Creation will never be released in its final form.” As evidence, he refers to the mathematics and points to other MMORPGs that were in development for much shorter periods. According to his calculation, AoC cannot be released before 2040 based on current progress.
- Silveryo draws a conclusion on Reddit: “Everything indicates that Steven is hiring noobs. And the more noobs you place on a project, the worse it will get and the longer it will take. […] Hiring good game developers and designers seems difficult nowadays, especially considering why many other projects fail.”
- Braveliltoasterx has a different theory on Reddit: “The reason they are so slow is that people keep giving them money! If no one were buying the alpha and skin packages, they would damn well hurry up.”
- ballsmigue compares AoC on Reddit with another crowdfunding project: “Fantasy Star Citizen – It will never come out.”
- BuffaloJ0E716 criticizes parts of the community on Reddit: “How blind must one be to still believe that this game will ever get a successful full release? Are there really still people holding on to that?”
The criticism does not come out of nowhere. In August 2024, Ashes of Creation faced significant backlash due to the updated alpha monetization. Even back then, comparisons were repeatedly drawn to Star Citizen, which despite historically high revenues and a long development, still seems far from a final launch.
How does MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz evaluate the criticism of the postponement? I can understand the frustration of many genre fans. Major MMORPG launches, especially from the West, have become rare.
Time and again, exciting projects are canceled before release. Often, there is a lack of money to complete development. And where revenues are already flowing, there have been consistent progress, yet after many years, there is no foreseeable release.
However, I cannot agree with the currently very harsh criticism of Ashes of Creation. For example, one cannot compare the development of a WoW with today’s MMORPGs, as BroxigarZ does.
The duration and costs of game development have skyrocketed over the past decades. Additionally, MMORPGs have always been among the most elaborate, complex, and expensive genres to develop.
Where 3 to 4 years used to be the standard, it is now rather 8 to 10 years – if one wants to keep up with the big players. That’s why hardly anyone makes large online role-playing games anymore. Perhaps AI can help accelerate developments in the future… but will everyone like that?
What speaks for Ashes of Creation: The developers document the development progress relatively clearly, they allow testers to freely report from the alpha, and one could recently observe significant progress. Anyone who does a little research beforehand doesn’t buy the unknown cat in the bag.
Nevertheless, with Ashes of Creation, what I always say about pre-orders and early financial support applies: Don’t. Wait for the finished product. The past impressively shows that you are likely to waste your money: 24 Kickstarter MMOs that wanted money from you – A reckoning after 13 years with a frustrating balance
