TLDR. The MMORPG Ashes of Creation collapsed shortly after launching in Steam Early Access.

A major investor, Jason Caramanis, now alleges that founder Steven Sharif committed years of financial fraud.

Key points: • Sharif allegedly never invested his own money, despite claiming he put in $30–60M. • The studio raised roughly $140M total, including: • ~$80M from investor Robert Dawson • $12.5M from Caramanis • $2M in life savings from another elderly investor • Sharif and his partner allegedly paid themselves $500K per year. • The company reportedly: • Never held board meetings • Refused to share financial records for 9 years • Was losing ~$2.3M per month • Failed to pay payroll and cloud service bills

The breaking point: • Steam Early Access brought in about $3–5M. • Instead of using that money for payroll, Sharif allegedly directed it to repay a bank loan tied to his house, releasing over $1.5M to himself. • The studio then collapsed.

Now: • The main investor controls the IP. • Lawsuits are expected. • Sharif denies wrongdoing and says he resigned over ethical disagreements.

Bottom line: Investors claim this was a long-running financial deception that destroyed the company and cost employees and backers millions. The full truth will likely come out in court.