Sony created a lot of buzz when it scooped up exclusivity rights for Free Radical’s (initially) multiplatform FPS, Haze. But when the game released, critics were surprised at how unpolished and unimpressive the game ended up. Though the developer was given the opportunity to concentrate their efforts on just one platform, Karl Hilton explains how “a few stumbling blocks” ended up hurting the project.
Because of Haze’s disappointing market performance, Free Radical almost closed down before Crytek swooped in to save the studio and rebrand it as Crytek UK. Hilton, who serves as Crytek UK’s managing director, stated the following in a recent interview:
“[Haze] had a lot of development issues which meant it wasn’t the game it should have been. A lot of them were technical issues. The PS3 is a powerful machine but a difficult one to get the best out of.
We spent more time trying get the game running properly and less time to design the game properly.”
Now that the studio is working with an incredibly well-built game engine, CryEngine 3, the studio should be free to focus on making fun games rather than tweaking their PS3 tech.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the best out of the PS3 at all, and I definitely think one of the best things about Crytek and the CryEngine is that we’re now in the best position to get the most out of the hardware.”
[Source]
