Crytek Explained

Crytek GmbH
Type:Private GmbH
Founded: in Coburg, Germany
Hq Location City:Frankfurt
Hq Location Country:Germany
Industry:Video games
Owner:Yerli family[1]
Num Employees:405
Num Employees Year:2024
Subsid:List of Crytek subsidiaries

Crytek GmbH is a German video game developer and software developer based in Frankfurt. Founded by the Yerli brothers in Coburg in 1999 and moved to Frankfurt in 2006, Crytek operates additional studios in Kyiv, Ukraine and Istanbul, Turkey.[2] Its former studios included Crytek Black Sea in Sofia, Bulgaria, Crytek UK in Nottingham, and Crytek USA in Austin, Texas. Crytek is best known for developing the first instalment of the Far Cry series, the Crysis series, and the open world nature of their games which showcase the company's CryEngine. As of August 2024, Crytek is the largest game developer in Germany with 405 employees.[3]

History

1999–2004: CryEngine and Far Cry

Crytek was founded by the Turkish-German brothers Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli in September 1999 in Coburg, Germany.[4] One of their first projects was a tech demo of a game called X-Isle: Dinosaur Island, which showcased their game engine technology that offered larger viewing distances than other game engines could at that time. They met with Nvidia during the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) where their tech demo caught the attention of Nvidia and various media groups. Crytek later signed on with Nvidia to distribute X-Isle as benchmarking software for Nvidia cards.[4]

Crytek's first major game project was Engalus, a first-person shooter with a cyberpunk theme and role-playing elements, which was first privately shown at E3 2000. The project first attracted publicity for the company at the 2000 ECTS with their tech demo at the Nvidia booth, but was subsequently cancelled.[5] Crytek was approached by Ubisoft to develop X-Isle into a full AAA game. This evolved into Far Cry, which was released in March 2004. Concurrently, Crytek announced their licensable game engine, CryEngine, that was used for X-Isle and Far Cry.

In February 2004, German police carried out a morning raid on Crytek offices, acting on an ex-intern's claim that Crytek was using software illegally. The police investigated for software copies greater than licences purchased, but no charges were pressed.[6] That same month, Crytek and Electronic Arts (EA) announced a strategic partnership to develop a new gaming franchise based on the CryEngine, which would eventually be the Crysis series. Crytek chose this path to highlight that the CryEngine was not limited to just what Far Cry had shown. Due to this partnership, Ubisoft acquired the full rights to the Far Cry franchise by 2006 as well as a perpetual licence to the first CryEngine, which they have since adapted into their own Dunia Engine.[7] In December 2004, Crytek and ATI created a special cinematic machinima[8] to demonstrate the future of PC gaming.

2004–2014: Company expansion, CryEngine 2 and 3, and later games

In January 2006, Crytek announced the development of Crysis, promising that it would be an original first-person shooter with a new kind of gameplay challenge requiring "adaptive tactics".[9] The game later won several Best PC Game awards from E3 and Games Convention. In April 2006, Crytek moved to new offices in Frankfurt. The first public demonstration of Crytek's CryEngine 2 was in January 2007, one year after Crysis was announced. It has been licensed by many companies such as Avatar Reality, WeMade Entertainment, Entropia Universe, XLGames, Reloaded Studios.

On 11 May 2006, Crytek announced that their satellite studio in Kyiv, Ukraine, had been upgraded to a full development studio, giving the company its second development studio. About a week after the upgrade of the Kyiv studio, Crytek announced a new studio in Budapest, Hungary.

Crysis was released in November 2007. In September 2008, an expansion to Crysis entitled Crysis Warhead was released as a PC-exclusive game. In October 2011, Crysis was released on some consoles, allowing play of the original game via Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

On 14 July 2008, Crytek bought Black Sea Studios and renamed it to Crytek Black Sea.[10] On 17 November 2008, Crytek opened an office in South Korea named Crytek, Ltd.[11] On 3 February 2009, Crytek purchased Free Radical Design, a British video game company known for the TimeSplitters series, and renamed the company to Crytek UK.[12]

In March 2009, Crytek announced on the company's website that it would introduce CryEngine 3 at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. This new engine was developed for use on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PCs.[13] In October 2009, CryEngine 3 became available in trade flow for game developers.[14] In March 2010, CryEngine 3 was made compatible with stereoscopic 3D technology.[15] Crytek released Crysis 2, a direct sequel to the original game, in March 2011.

At E3 2011, Crytek exhibited several new projects, including the action game . In September 2011, THQ and Crytek announced a partnership to develop Homefront 2.[16] After THQ filed for bankruptcy, Crytek acquired the Homefront franchise from THQ entirely in January 2013.[17] In February 2012, Crytek announced a new cloud based social gaming network called Gface.[18] The service is designed to help users meet people and play multiplayer video games with friends.[19] Crytek began researching a cloud gaming system in 2005 for Crysis, but paused development in 2007.[20] [21]

In April 2012, Crytek released the CryEngine 3.4 SDK which brought full DirectX 11 support to the CryEngine SDK.[22] Crytek released Crysis 3 in February 2013[23] and Ryse: Son of Rome in November 2013 as an Xbox One launch title.[24] The PC version of Ryse was released in October 2014.[25]

On 17 January 2013, Crytek officially opened an office in Istanbul, Turkey.[26] On 28 January 2013, Crytek opened a new studio, Crytek USA, in Austin, Texas, consisting primarily of former Vigil Games employees.[27]

Since 2014: Restructuring, new leadership, CryEngine V, and latest games

In June 2014, reports surfaced that Crytek had missed wage payments and withheld bonuses for Crytek UK and Crytek USA employees, and the company responded that it was in a "transitional phase" as it secured capital for future projects, with a particular emphasis on online gaming. In July 2014, Crytek announced a strategic deal where the rights to Homefront including and the Crytek UK staff were transferred to Koch Media. The team continued its work on the game as the new Deep Silver Dambuster Studios. Crytek USA was restructured to remain an engine support team while development of was transferred to Crytek.

On 20 December 2016, Crytek announced that their studios in Hungary, Bulgaria, South Korea and China would be shut down.[28] On 7 March 2017, Crytek sold Crytek Black Sea to Sega and The Creative Assembly.[29] On 28 February 2018, Crytek announced that Cevat Yerli was stepping down as chief executive officer (CEO) of Crytek, with his brothers, Avni and Faruk Yerli, taking over the company's leadership as joint CEOs. Cevat continues to support the company as an advisor and major shareholder.[30] Crytek announced the next iteration of the engine branded CRYENGINE V on March 22, 2016.[31]

Crytek released (utilising the fifth generation of the CryEngine) in 2019–20. The company has also worked on three virtual reality projects, namely The Climb for the Oculus Rift, The Climb 2 for the Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest 2, and for the PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and SteamVR. Arena of Fate was cancelled after Crytek's restructuring which saw the game's developer Crytek Black Sea sold.[28]

In July 2021, German tabloid BILD reported that the Chinese Internet company Tencent was attempting to buy Crytek for over €300 million via a European subsidiary.[32]

In 2021, the Creative Services team responsible for creating trailers, won a Gold MUSE Award for The Dark Sight Trailer that promoted .[33]

On January 26, 2022, Crytek announced the 4th instalment of the Crysis franchise.[34]

Subsidiaries

Former

Games developed

YearTitlePublisher(s)Platform(s)Studio(s)
2004Far CryUbisoftMicrosoft WindowsCrytek
2007CrysisElectronic ArtsMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2008Crysis WarheadMicrosoft WindowsCrytek Budapest
2011Crysis 2Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360Crytek, Crytek UK
2012Fibble: Flick 'n' RollCrytekAndroid, iOSCrytek Budapest
2013Crysis 3Electronic ArtsMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360Crytek, Crytek UK
WarfaceMicrosoft Studios, CrytekMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo SwitchCrytek Kiev
Microsoft Windows, Xbox OneCrytek
2014The CollectablesDeNAiOSCrytek Budapest
2016The ClimbCrytekMicrosoft Windows, Oculus Quest (2019)Crytek
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4
2019Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2020Crysis RemasteredMicrosoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The Climb 2Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2
2021Crysis 2 RemasteredMicrosoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Crysis 3 Remastered
Crysis 4

Cancelled games

Notes and References

  1. Web site: "The transformation was painful. We paid the price" . eurogamer.net . 8 August 2014 . 2 December 2017 . 7 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150907170100/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-08-the-transformation-was-painful-we-paid-the-price . live .
  2. Web site: Crytek closes five studios after rough year . 20 December 2016 . 20 December 2016 . 21 December 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161221000445/http://kotaku.com/crytek-closes-five-studios-after-rough-year-1790315044 . live .
  3. Web site: Die größten Games-Studios in Deutschland 2024 . de . The largest game studios in Germany in 2024 . Petra . Fröhlich . 15 August 2024 . GamesWirtschaft . 15 August 2024 . 15 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240815103001/https://www.gameswirtschaft.de/wirtschaft/groesste-games-studios-deutschland-2024-150824/ . live.
  4. Web site: THE STORY OF CRYTEK: FROM X-ISLE THROUGH REDEMPTION . Charlie . Hall . 11 July 2013 . 31 May 2017 . . 22 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322003321/http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/7/11/4503782/crytek-x-isle-redemption . live .
  5. Web site: Crytek's canceled FPS was a cyberpunk adventure of 'Half-Life meets Metal Gear Solid' . Corriea . Alexa Ray . 7 February 2013 . . 17 May 2017 . 24 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181224065508/https://www.polygon.com/2013/2/7/3963986/cryteks-canceled-fps-was-a-cyberpunk-adventure-of-half-life-meets . live .
  6. Web site: Crytek Raided. 5 February 2004. 27 January 2015. 18 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150218155101/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/02/05/crytek-responds-to-raid. live.
  7. Web site: UBISOFT ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO FAR CRY . Wade . Steel . 30 March 2006 . 30 May 2017 . . 20 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170320055803/http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/03/30/ubisoft-acquires-rights-to-far-cry . live .
  8. Web site: Crytek and ATI Demo . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071104120026/http://ati.amd.com/gitg/promotions/crytek/index.html . 4 November 2007 .
  9. Web site: Crysis Announced. https://web.archive.org/web/20060406174905/http://www.crytek.com/news/story.php?id=9&p=0&n=pr&t=1 . 6 April 2006 .
  10. http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=32352 Crytek bought Black Sea Studios
  11. Web site: Crytek Opens South Korean Office . Shacknews . 25 September 2015 . 29 May 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090529065445/http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55978 . live .
  12. Web site: Crytek Buys TimeSplitters Dev. Free Radical . Shacknews . 25 September 2015 . 5 February 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090205163441/http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/57079 . live .
  13. Web site: Crytek Announces CryENGINE 3 . Crytek . 11 March 2009 . 12 March 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090323125304/http://www.crytek.com/news/news/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=143 . 23 March 2009.
  14. Web site: Crytek CryENGINE 3 trade begins . Hardwired . 14 October 2009 . 14 October 2009 . 7 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140807085024/http://hardwired.hu/index.php#news_23321 . live .
  15. Web site: CryTek Adds Stereoscopic 3D To Its Game Engine . ApertureGames . 14 October 2009 . 3 March 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110707153336/http://aperturegames.com/listnews.php?story=crytek-adds-stereoscopic-3d-to-its-game-engine . 7 July 2011 .
  16. Web site: Crytek developing Homefront sequel with THQ . Joystiq . 20 September 2011 . 21 September 2011 . Kietzmann, Ludwig . 12 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131012023111/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/20/homefront-2-developed-by-crytek/ . live .
  17. Web site: THQ Dissolved, Saints Row, Company of Heroes Devs Acquired . IGN . 23 January 2013 . 23 January 2013 . 25 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150725141030/http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/01/23/thq-dissolved-saints-row-company-of-heroes-darksiders-devs-acquired . live .
  18. Web site: Gface, Crytek-backed streaming game network, goes into beta . Joystiq . 5 February 2012 . 5 February 2012 . 31 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150131050943/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/05/gface-crytek-backed-streaming-game-network-goes-into-beta/ . live .
  19. Web site: Gface, Crytek-backed streaming game network, goes into beta . Fletcher . JC . . 5 February 2012 . 16 December 2013 . 31 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150131050943/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/05/gface-crytek-backed-streaming-game-network-goes-into-beta/ . live .
  20. Web site: Crytek was way ahead of OnLive . Sandberg, Adam . 2 April 2009 . That VideoGame Blog . 16 December 2013 . 5 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150605012739/http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2009/04/02/crytek-was-way-ahead-of-onlive/ . live .
  21. Web site: Crytek Attempted Cloud Gaming Way Before OnLive . Dobra, Andrei . 27 April 2009 . . 16 December 2013 . 8 December 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151208235516/http://news.softpedia.com/news/Crytek-Attempted-Cloud-Gaming-Way-Before-OnLive-110232.shtml . live .
  22. Web site: CryEngine 3.4 SDK, Crytek today announced the arrival of a feature-filled update to its award-winning game development solution, CryENGINE 3. . Crytek . 13 April 2012 . 17 April 2012 . 20 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120420041707/http://www.crytek.com/news/free-cryengine-3-sdk-34-available-83f5fe2d8779a3a429944ed17b55db42 . live .
  23. Web site: Crysis 3 Release Date Announced . . 3 November 2014 . 29 January 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130129122635/http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/crysis-3/1226870p1.html . dead .
  24. Web site: Xbox One to Launch on 22 November 2013 in 13 Markets . 22 November 2013 . . 27 January 2015 . 1 February 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150201143738/http://news.xbox.com/2013/09/xbox-one-launch . live .
  25. Ryse PC release date and system requirements revealed . . 3 November 2014 . 3 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141103221205/http://www.pcgamer.com/ryse-pc-release-date-and-system-requirements-revealed/ . live .
  26. Web site: Crytek . https://web.archive.org/web/20150926040209/http://www.crytek.com/news/crytek-continues-to-expand-with-the-arrival-of-crytek-istanbul . 26 September 2015 . dead . 25 September 2015 .
  27. News: How Crytek hired the ex-Vigil team (and formed a new studio) based on one meeting . VentureBeat . 3 April 2013 . 7 March 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130307213707/http://venturebeat.com/2013/02/04/how-crytek-ceo-cevat-yerli-decided-to-hire-the-ex-vigil-team-based-on-a-single-meeting/ . live .
  28. Web site: Crytek Outlines Future Plans and Focuses on Return to Core Competencies . 15 June 2015 . 20 December 2016 . 21 December 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161221091327/http://www.crytek.com/news/crytek-outlines-future-plans-and-focuses-on-return-to-core-competencies . live .
  29. Web site: Crytek sells Black Sea studio in Bulgaria to Sega and The Creative Assembly. 7 March 2017. 30 August 2017. 25 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171025035258/https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/07/crytek-sells-black-sea-studio-in-bulgaria-to-sega-and-the-creative-assembly/. live.
  30. Web site: The CEO of Crytek has stepped down . . 28 February 2018 . 28 February 2018 . 28 February 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180228211401/https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/28/17062472/crytek-cevat-yerli-steps-down-new-leadership-ceo . live .
  31. Web site: Crytek's Video Game Engine is Now Free. 15 March 2016 . 18 June 2021. 24 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200935/https://kotaku.com/cryteks-video-game-engine-is-now-free-1765078659. live.
  32. Web site: China-Konzern will deutsche Gaming-Firma kaufen: Wegen Kriegs-Simulationssoftware?. 13 July 2021. 15 July 2021. 15 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210715055221/https://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/politik-ausland/china-konzern-will-deutsche-gaming-firma-kaufen-wegen-kriegs-simulationssoftware-77067376.bild.html. live.
  33. Web site: You are being redirected.... 2021-12-06. museaward.com. 6 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211206222853/https://museaward.com/winner-info.php?id=220469. live.
  34. Web site: Next Crysis game.... CONFIRMED! . Avni . Yerli . 26 January 2022 . Crysis.com . 26 January 2022 . live . https://archive.today/20220126143733/https://www.crysis.com/blog/new-crysis-game-confirmed . 26 January 2022.

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