Steam to Potentially Offer Refunds After Ashes of Creation Studio Closure

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I was really worried to hear rumors over the weekend that Intrepid Studios, the team behind Ashes of Creation, might be shutting down. It’s left the future of the game totally uncertain, and while we haven’t gotten official confirmation, the reports of layoffs don’t look good. I’m hoping they can figure things out, but it’s definitely a scary time to be a fan.

Development of Ashes of Creation started in 2017 with a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $3.2 million. The game recently entered early access for $50, but just one month later, Intrepid Studios director Steven Sharif announced the studio was shutting down on Discord.

Where does that leave early investors?

It’s not uncommon for games funded by crowdfunding to fail to deliver on their promises and close down shortly after release.

The zombie survival game The Day Before, which was highly anticipated in 2023, didn’t live up to expectations. Despite being Steam’s most-awaited game, it quickly shut down after release and offered refunds to players. Steam then removed it from sale.

Steam previously offered refunds in a comparable situation, so players likely will be able to get refunds for Ashes of Creation if needed. TopMob has reached out to Steam for comment, but hasn’t received a response yet.

However, it looks like players are reporting their requests for refunds going through.

Okay, so I was reading Reddit, and this gamer was having a nightmare trying to get a refund on Steam. They said they tried four times, kept getting automatically denied, but finally got a real person to look at their case! Apparently, they’d put in 10 hours of playtime, which is more than the usual two-hour refund window. And another player chimed in saying their chances are even slimmer – they’ve sunk 200 hours into the game! It just goes to show, getting a refund when you’ve played a lot is tough.

Steam’s refund rules apply to games you buy before they’re released, meaning you can get a refund if you’ve played for less than two hours. However, the 14-day period to request a refund doesn’t begin until the game is actually released.

With Early Access and Advanced Access games, all your playtime adds up towards the two-hour play limit for refunds. If you pre-purchase a game that isn’t playable yet, you can get a refund at any time before it comes out. Once the game is released, normal refund rules apply.

It’s a bit unclear what will happen with refunds for those who backed the game on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter page does say backers will receive refunds if the game is never released.

Early investors are wondering if the current early access period counts as an official game release – it’s a bit of an unclear situation. TopMob has contacted Intrepid Studios for confirmation, but hasn’t received a response yet.

We haven’t received any official confirmation about the future of Ashes of Creation, nor have we heard anything official about the studio closing. Steam may take these uncertainties into account when processing refund requests.

Early Access Players Navigate Uncertainty

Several employees at Intrepid Studio have recently announced they are leaving the company on LinkedIn, and others have indicated they’re searching for new opportunities. This suggests an unexpected change is happening at the studio, even though no official statement has been made.

The last I heard directly from the team behind Ashes of Creation was a post on their website detailing the things they were working on to improve the overall player experience – basically, quality of life updates. It was good to see they were focusing on making the game more enjoyable for everyone.

Think of playing an early access game like test-driving a car while it’s still being built. You’re getting in on the experience early, but it means dealing with things still being worked on – it’s the price you pay for getting in first.

This is a difficult situation for everyone involved. Players who purchased the game are understandably frustrated that it isn’t complete, and the developers have put a lot of work into a project that’s faced challenges. Hopefully, updates or refunds will offer some solutions and ease concerns for both players and the development team in the near future.

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2026-02-03 02:06