Riot may have eyed a massive Ashes of Creation buyout while its League MMO was still in limbo

Riot Games reportedly explored a huge buyout of Ashes of Creation while its own League of Legends MMO remained under wraps. The figure on the table was said to be between $250 million and $500 million, according to Intrepid Studios director Steven Sharif.

The claim comes from a court document shared on the Ashes of Creation subreddit. That document reportedly includes an email from Riot to Sharif, who was co-founder and CEO of Intrepid Studios, and John Moore, the studio’s CFO. In it, Riot was said to be weighing an acquisition of Intrepid and its fantasy MMORPG.

Court Document confirming Riot were looking into purchasing/investing into Intrepid/Ashes for "$250m-$500m"
byu/Talents inAshesofCreation

The same material suggests the idea was tied to a plan to scale the game after launch as more systems and concepts were added. That is especially notable because Ashes of Creation was still years away from being publicly playable at that point.

The email was reportedly sent by Mark Sottosanti, Riot’s chief financial officer. What the wider discussion looked like after that is not clear, but the offer itself points to how serious Riot may have been about finding a way into the MMO space without building everything from scratch.

That deal never happened, and Riot’s own League-themed MMO has remained one of the industry’s longer-running question marks. Sharif also issued a statement about the litigation around Intrepid’s alleged misuse of funds, saying, “I know the public discourse around me, Intrepid, and Ashes of Creation has been flooded with knives-out narratives driven by a coordinated defamation campaign orchestrated by the opposing parties in my lawsuit. Do not mistake noise for truth.” The statement was posted on Reddit.

April Public Statement and Update Regarding Intrepid Studios
byu/Steven_AoC inAshesofCreation

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Ashes of Creation

Developed by Intrepid Studios

Ashes of Creation is a unique take on the MMO experience. The world structure is dynamic and built to react to the actions of our players. Cities will rise and fall, their populations based on the history of the world as the players create it. Quests will unlock as these populations gather, their needs grow, and secrets are unlocked.

As the world’s NPC structure is established in real time, players will have the ability to destroy what they’ve created, paving the way for new development, new populations, and real change. Political strife and intrigue will play a very real role in the structure of your world.

Gone are the days of static worlds, change is here to stay.

• Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Adventure, Indie
• Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
• Modes: Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
• Release: 2025-12-11
• Publisher: Intrepid Studios
• Age Rating: ESRB RP

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