Riot says it once explored buying Ashes of Creation studio, but walked away
Riot Games has finally addressed the talk around Ashes of Creation developer Intrepid Studios, and the short version is this: yes, Riot did look at a possible deal, but it never went through.
In a post on X, Riot co-founder Marc Merrill said Riot had explored either investing in Intrepid or buying the studio outright a few years back. According to Merrill, Riot eventually chose not to continue those discussions.
That matters because the rumour had been floating around as part of a bigger wave of drama tied to Intrepid and its long-in-development MMO, Ashes of Creation. Merrill said Intrepid shared Riot's ambition of building "the next great MMO," but from Riot's point of view, joining forces just did not make sense in the end.
Why this came up now
Merrill's clarification landed after Intrepid chief Steven Sharif posted a lengthy statement on the Ashes of Creation subreddit. In that post, Sharif pushed back against what he described as character attacks, misinformation, and a wider defamation campaign.
One of the points he addressed was Riot's alleged interest in buying Intrepid. Sharif said the studio had reportedly been valued at between US$250 million and US$500 million during those talks, and claimed he had been advised not to accept the offer.
Merrill's version changes the key detail there. He says it was Riot that decided not to move forward, not Intrepid turning Riot down.
So now, at least publicly, Riot's side of the story is on record too.
What this means for Riot's MMO plans
For League fans, this is the part worth watching. Riot is still working on its own MMO, even if the project has gone very quiet.
The company previously had former Blizzard veteran Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street attached to the project. After Street left for personal reasons, Riot reset the game's direction because the earlier version apparently was not different enough from other MMOs already on the market. Merrill has also said before that the team would be going dark for a long time.
This latest statement does not suddenly bring the Riot MMO closer to launch, but it does confirm Riot was seriously looking at outside options while chasing that goal.
For players in Malaysia and the wider SEA region, that's interesting because MMO audiences here are still very real, even if the market looks different from its golden era. A big Riot MMO would instantly have attention across this part of the world thanks to Riot's existing fanbase from League of Legends, VALORANT, and Teamfight Tactics. If it ever lands properly, SEA players will care about the usual stuff straight away: server quality, ping, launch support, and whether the game actually respects regional communities.
The darker side of the Intrepid story
The source report also paints a grim picture of Intrepid's current situation. It says the studio has been permanently shut down, all 123 employees were laid off, and Sharif has recently faced accusations of misusing company money on a lavish lifestyle.
Sharif, meanwhile, says he stepped away when the board began making decisions he could not ethically or morally support.
That leaves the wider story in a messy spot. Riot has now clarified its past involvement, but it is still unclear whether Sharif will directly challenge Merrill's version of events, or if more details will come out.
For now, the biggest takeaway is pretty simple: Riot did consider a deal with Intrepid, but decided against it, and its own MMO remains a long-term mystery.
Source: Dot Esports
