The Intrepid Studios/Ashes of Creation legal saga continues to unfold as the former CEO and Creative Director Steven Sharif has made a lengthy post on Reddit entitled April Public Statement and Update Regarding Intrepid Studios
While this post could be summarized in a single article or video, its length and the number of court records and exhibits included make a more detailed breakdown necessary, focusing on Steven’s investment into Intrepid Studios, the composition of the board, and how these elements fit together.
In the reddit thread Sharif stated:
“For the last 10 years, you claimed there was no board to answer to. When did that change? Was there always a board? Were you lying?
No, I did not lie.
From 2015 through approximately July of 2024, the board consisted of 100% of the company's shareholders in myself, John, and Tom. That structure was founder-led, stable and consistent for nearly a decade.”
With the information that has been made available through various lawsuits, we can examine the historical timeline to determine if this statement properly aligns with other publicly available information.
Historical Timeline
Intrepid Studios was founded on 20 May 2015.
The Kickstarter for Ashes of Creation ran from 1 May 2017 through 2 Jun 2017.
In a video interview with MMORPG.com recorded on May 22, 2017, Steven Sharif stated to Robert Lashley, “In total, coming to Kickstarter, I believe I’ve put in almost $2,000,000, just about $2,000,000.”
On 3 March 2026 Jason Caramanis filed a lawsuit in Superior Court of the State of California Case No: 26CU011902C. In his filing he submitted an email from Steven Sharif to Sagar Parikh (attorney for Caramanis) and to Caramanis attaching a Capitalization Table
Questions
Three main questions come out of this historical timeline.
First, why would Steven Sharif state during that 2017 that his total was “just about $2,000,000” when the capitalization table he created states in May of 2015 he had committed $9,550,000 to Intrepid Studios?
Second, why would Steven state in his own Reddit thread
“From 2015 through approximately July of 2024, the board consisted of 100% of the company's shareholders in myself, John, and Tom” when the 2019 Capitalization Table he submitted did not reflect John as being a shareholder?
Third, why would he state from “From 2015 through approximately July of 2024, the board consisted of 100% of the company's shareholders” when based on a 14 June 2024 Court Case in Superior Court of California (Case Number 37-2024-00028-199-CU-WM-CTL) that a letter was sent to Steven Sharif on 5 March 2019 exercising conversion rights which would indicate a potential 4.4% ownership interest of Intrepid?
For more information on the preceding conversion reference
Ashes of Illusion: The Hidden Investor Behind Intrepid Studios
Analysis
Of the three issues brought up, all three of them appear to be equally weight in importance.
To begin with the investment amount, was a simple mistake on the part of Sharif when he stated, “just about $2,000,000”? In the video clip Sharif pauses, in what appears to be an attempt to remember an accurate number.
He states, “I believe I’ve put in almost $2,000,000”, yet two year later the civilization table would reflect 9.5 million dollars. This represents a substantial difference, exceeding four times the originally stated amount. Was this a simple misspeak or failure to remember, or was there something else going on, or could the difference be explained by how ‘committed’ versus ‘contributed’ funds were being described at the time?
Second, the capitalization table reviewed does not appear to list John Moore as a shareholder, which raises questions about how shareholder status was being defined at the time. Separately, Trek Holdings LLC is referenced in connection with shareholder loans, although its relationship to the cap table is not clearly reflected in the materials reviewed?
Third, why was Jason Caramanis not listed in the Reddit Thread? Regardless of whatever else occurred with shares of stock, there is a reference conversion letter that was sent to Sharif showing an additionally shareholder.
Finally, it is also unclear whether the term ‘investors’ was being used consistently across statements, as it may refer to equity holders, note holders, or other forms of financial participation?
Thread: I don't get the hype for Ashes of Creation https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/ngo2pi/comment/gyt3gat/
Ramifications
From the recently released transcripts from Steven Sharif, individually and derivatively on behalf of Intrepid Studios, Inc. v. Robert Dawson, Ryan Ogden, Theresa Fette, Aaron Bartels, and TFE Games Holdings LLC (Case No. 26-CV-00965-LL-MMP) the Honorable Judge Linda Lopez realized the following statement:
Based on the information presented here, what do you think? Do these differences reflect inconsistencies between public statements and submitted exhibits, or are they the result of incomplete context or evolving information over time? Could this be a matter of imprecise or incomplete information, or simply a misstatement of prior remarks?
These questions are based solely on publicly available materials and may have explanations that are not reflected in those records, including differences in terminology, timing of transactions, or incomplete documentation.
I’d love your comments over on the YouTube Video.