Crytek, the developer behind the renowned Crysis series, has recently announced layoffs affecting 60 of its 400 employees, which equates to 15% of its workforce. This decision comes amid challenging market conditions, as stated by Crytek founder Avni Yerli on the company's official X (formerly Twitter) account.
Yerli explained that despite the growth of their flagship game, Hunt: Showdown 1896, the company could not maintain its previous operational model and remain financially sustainable. Crytek had previously decided to put the development of Crysis 4 on hold in the third quarter of 2024, attempting to reassign staff to Hunt: Showdown 1896 as part of efforts to reduce costs and operating expenses. However, these measures were not enough to prevent the layoffs, which impacted various teams across Crytek's development and shared services departments. The company has committed to providing severance packages and career assistance services to the affected employees.
In his full statement, Yerli emphasized the difficulty of the decision and acknowledged the hard work and talent of Crytek's teams. He reaffirmed the company's belief in its future, particularly with Hunt: Showdown 1896, which they intend to continue expanding and evolving with new content. Crytek also plans to further develop its engine, CRYENGINE.
Last year, early gameplay footage of a battle royale-inspired project, codenamed Crysis Next, surfaced on YouTube. This project, which featured third-person shooting in a basic warm-up arena and included Crysis’ signature abilities and sound effects, was never officially announced by Crytek and was eventually canceled in favor of Crysis 4, which was announced in January 2022.
The Crysis series, known for its first-person sci-fi shooter gameplay, impressive visuals, and the iconic nanosuit powers, has been a benchmark for PC performance since the release of the first game in 2007. The phrase "But can it run Crysis?" became a popular way to gauge a PC's capabilities. The most recent mainline entry, Crysis 3, was released in February 2013. Although Crytek released remasters of the original games in recent years, fans have been eagerly awaiting updates on Crysis 4 since its announcement and teaser three years ago.
