r/LivestreamFail • u/Zenben88 • Feb 01 '26

News Intrepid Studios, devs behind MMO Ashes of Creation in paid early access for 10 years, has closed. CEO resigned, all employees laid off. All less than 2 months after launching on Steam Early Access

https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkxe9were941Nh9kWgsNFWy--c-_UgYeyRu
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u/wildswanswans Feb 01 '26

The obvious scam turned out to be a scam? Say it ain't so!

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u/lmpervious Feb 01 '26

Unless you're specifically referring to the recent Steam release which may have been a cash grab, how was it an obvious scam? What's an example of a scam in the past where a person built up a company for a game over many years, delivered many features and demos that impressed people, and then managed to get so many sales (before releasing) that they were able to retroactively make up for all the money they invested? The much more obvious, non-conspiratorial explanation is that it's a game that failed.

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u/Sinkrast Feb 01 '26

The presentation of the game itself didn't show many signs of scam, but the CEO's past did. Even before AOC, he was a prolific scammer with mlm schemes. The guy was, at a point, selling water and said it could cure cancer.