Crysis 4 Development Paused; Crytek Layoffs Impact 60 Staff

Crytek, the renowned game developer behind the acclaimed Crysis series and Hunt: Showdown, has recently announced a significant round of layoffs affecting 60 of its 400 employees. This decision, impacting 15% of its workforce, comes amidst challenging market conditions and a strategic shift in focus.

In a statement released on social media, Crytek explained that despite the growth of Hunt: Showdown, the company could not continue its operations as before and maintain financial sustainability. This led to the difficult decision to lay off staff across its development teams and shared services. Crytek's founder, Avni Yerli, expressed the gravity of the situation, stating:

Like so many of our peers, we aren’t immune to the complex, unfavorable market dynamics that have hit our industry these past several years. It pains me greatly to share today that we must lay off an estimated 15% of our around 400 employees. The layoffs affect development teams and shared services.

This has not been an easy decision to make, as we deeply appreciate the hard work of our talented teams. After putting the development of the next Crysis game on hold in Q3 2024, we have been trying to shift developers over to Hunt: Showdown 1896.

While Hunt: Showdown 1896 is still growing, Crytek cannot continue as before and remain financially sustainable. Even after ongoing efforts to reduce costs and cut operating expenses, we have determined that layoffs are inevitable to move forward. Crytek will offer affected employees severance packages and career assistance services.

We firmly believe in the future of Crytek. With Hunt: Showdown 1896, we have a very strong gaming service and remain fully committed to its operation. We will continue to expand and evolve Hunt: Showdown 1896 with great content and drive our strategy for our engine CRYENGINE.

The decision to put Crysis 4 on hold in late 2024 was part of Crytek's efforts to reallocate resources to Hunt: Showdown 1896. Despite these efforts, the layoffs were deemed necessary to ensure the company's financial health. Crytek has committed to providing severance packages and career assistance to those affected by the layoffs.

Last year, it was revealed that Crytek had been working on a battle royale-inspired project codenamed Crysis Next. Early gameplay footage surfaced on YouTube, showcasing third-person shooting in a basic warm-up arena with the series' signature abilities and sound effects. However, Crysis Next was ultimately canceled in favor of Crysis 4, which was announced in January 2022.

The Crysis series, known for its stunning visuals, innovative nanosuit powers, and open-ended gameplay, 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 last mainline entry, Crysis 3, was released in February 2013. While Crytek has 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.