Following reports that they hadn’t paid employees for months, and finally paid them for October last week, Crytek issued a statement about the future of the company today.
After saying they’ll now refocus on their “core strengths of developing innovative games and game-development technology,” Crytek revealed that all studios except for their Frankfurt and Kiev locations will be dropped by the company:
As part of the changes, Crytek will concentrate on development in its Frankfurt and Kiev studios and continue to develop and work on premium IPs. CRYENGINE will remain a core pillar of Crytek’s overall strategy, with enterprise licensees and indie developers alike continuing to be served by regular engine updates. All other development studios will not remain within Crytek and management has put plans into action to secure jobs and to ensure a smooth transition and stable future.
Although they didn’t specifically list the dropped studios, it looks like Crytek Black Sea in Bulgaria, Crytek Budapest, Crytek Istanbul, Crytek Seoul, and Crytek Shanghai will all be affected. Crytek also didn’t say if the studios would be sold or closed.
Avni Yerli, Crytek Co-Founder and Managing Director, said:
Undergoing such transitions is far from easy, and we’d like to sincerely thank each and every staff member – past and present – for their hard work and commitment to Crytek. These changes are part of the essential steps we are taking to ensure Crytek is a healthy and sustainable business moving forward that can continue to attract and nurture our industry’s top talent. The reasons for this have been communicated internally along the way.
Yerli added that their focus now lies entirely on the core strengths that have defined Crytek – world-class developers, state-of-the-art technology, and innovative game development. By going through this challenging process, Yerli believes it will make Crytek “a more agile, viable, and attractive studio, primed for future success.”
Crytek’s most recent PlayStation title was Robinson: The Journey for PlayStation VR.
[Source: Crytek via Games Industry, NeoGAF]
