Crytek, facing challenging market conditions, announced layoffs impacting approximately 15% of its 400-person workforce, totaling 60 employees. This decision, while painful, was deemed necessary to ensure the company's long-term financial stability.
In a statement from founder Avni Yerli, Crytek cited the halting of Crysis 4 development in Q3 2024 and subsequent efforts to transition staff to the growing Hunt: Showdown 1896 as mitigating factors. Despite these cost-cutting measures, layoffs remained unavoidable. Affected employees will receive severance packages and career support.
The layoffs affect various development teams and shared services. Crytek remains committed to Hunt: Showdown 1896, emphasizing its continued growth and expansion, along with ongoing development of its CRYENGINE.
The announcement follows previous, unannounced work on a battle royale-inspired Crysis project, codenamed Crysis Next, which was ultimately canceled in favor of Crysis 4, officially announced in January 2022. Crysis 4's development remains on hold.
The Crysis franchise, renowned for its visually stunning graphics and innovative nanosuit mechanics, is a significant player in the first-person shooter genre. The original Crysis (2007) became a PC benchmark, famously spawning the phrase, "But can it run Crysis?" The last mainline entry, Crysis 3, was released in 2013, with remasters of earlier titles released in recent years. News on Crysis 4 has been scarce since its initial teaser three years ago.
