Yesterday, we reported on rumours that Crytek is in financial trouble, with staff going unpaid and hints that bankruptcy could be on the cards.
Today, there are fresh reports which relate to the company's British studio Crytek UK, which was formed form the ashes of TimeSplitters and Haze developer Free Radical Design. Around 30 staff have left Crytek UK since 2011, including Free Radical Design co-founder Karl Hilton. The UK studio employs around 130 people.
It would appear that worrying tales of staff wages being paid late also apply to Crytek UK, as one source told Eurogamer that they were paid £600 one month and £700 the next. Bonuses have apparently been withheld as well, with another source claiming that company management is largely distrusted by studio employees.
Crytek UK has contributed to the multiplayer elements of Crysis 2 and 3, as well as helping out on Xbox One launch title Ryse: Son of Rome. It is currently working on Homefront: The Revolution, which is expected to launch in 2015 on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Such troubling news naturally casts doubts over whether or not the game will actually make its proposed release date — or even finish production at all.
The previous Homefront was developed by Kaos Studios and published by THQ. THQ commissioned Crytek UK to work on the sequel when Koas folded, but after the collapse of the veteran publisher the IP was purchased by Deep Silver.
Comments 5
This should put to rest the fears that Sony first party studios are the only ones that are undergoing change. Senior employees changing jobs is much better news than employees not getting paid.
The ever shrinking AAA Developers. Makes me scared tbh.
@SecondServing Please! Crytek simply lost their way and lack focus. I mean whose asking them to go all out on F2P? Hopefully this game (if successful) will make them see the light.
The situation reminds me of THQ, loved their earlier games but then they lacked focus and ruined their franchises in the process (Saints Row & Red Faction). With Crytek i suppose they now hold the key to Timesplitters, another ironic part is they both had/has Homefront.
not interested in F2P developer. Hope the staffs can find new jobs soon.
If Crytek is losing money due to Ryse , that's their own fault and to be honest, I really don't care much for the crysis series. Pretty graphics, very average gameplay, this really isn't a development company I would miss. o.O
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the first crysis until later in the game where the game just dropped off into a pile of garbage, but the beginning to mid-game was pretty cool, the rest of the series I didn't like as it sucked. I see crytek mainly a graphics focused company, not so much gameplay standards as it's average at best, but graphics. That's fine, but they should be doing more then just graphics since they already have that part covered in a way.
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