Crytek

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Crytek GmbH
IndustryVideo games
FoundedSeptember 1999; 24 years ago (1999-09) in Coburg, Germany
Founders
Headquarters
Frankfurt
,
Germany
Key people
  • Avni Yerli (co-CEO)
  • Faruk Yerli (co-CEO)
Products
OwnerYerli family[1]
Number of employees
270[2] (2023)
SubsidiariesList of Crytek subsidiaries
Websitecrytek.com

Crytek GmbH is a German

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
.

History

Crytek's previous logo, used until 2018

1999–2004: CryEngine and Far Cry

The E3 2000 Crytek demo disk

Crytek was founded by the

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

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.[4]

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.[4] 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

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

Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network
.

On 14 July 2008, Crytek bought Black Sea Studios and renamed it to

Crytek UK.[12]

In March 2009, Crytek announced on the company's website that it would introduce CryEngine 3 at the 2009

stereoscopic 3D technology.[15] Crytek released Crysis 2
, a direct sequel to the original game, in March 2011.

At

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

Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age
was transferred to Crytek.

On 20 December 2016, Crytek announced that their studios in Hungary, Bulgaria, South Korea and China would be shut down.

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

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 Hunt: Showdown.[33]

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

Subsidiaries

  • Crytek Kiev in Kyiv, Ukraine — founded in 2006.
  • Crytek Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey — founded in 2012.

Former

Games developed

Year Title Publisher(s) Platform(s) Studio(s)
2004 Far Cry Ubisoft Microsoft Windows Crytek
2007 Crysis Electronic Arts Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2008 Crysis Warhead Microsoft Windows Crytek Budapest
2011 Crysis 2 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Crytek,
Crytek UK
2012 Fibble: Flick 'n' Roll Crytek Android, iOS Crytek Budapest
2013 Crysis 3 Electronic Arts Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Crytek, Crytek UK
Warface
Microsoft Studios
, Crytek 		Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Crytek Kiev
Ryse: Son of Rome Microsoft Windows, Xbox One Crytek
2014 The Collectables DeNA iOS Crytek Budapest
2016 The Climb Crytek Microsoft Windows, Oculus Quest (2019) Crytek
Robinson: The Journey Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4
2019 Hunt: Showdown Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2020
Crysis Remastered
 		Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The Climb 2 Oculus Quest,
Oculus Quest 2
2021
Crysis 2 Remastered
 		Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Crysis 3 Remastered
TBA
Crysis 4
 		—

Cancelled games

References

  1. ^ ""The transformation was painful. We paid the price"". eurogamer.net. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  2. ^ Fröhlich, Petra (16 January 2023). "Die größten Games-Studios in Deutschland 2023 (Update)" [The largest game studios in Germany in 2023 (update)]. GamesWirtschaft (in German). Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Crytek closes five studios after rough year". 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Hall, Charlie (11 July 2013). "THE STORY OF CRYTEK: FROM X-ISLE THROUGH REDEMPTION". Polygon. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b Corriea, Alexa Ray (7 February 2013). "Crytek's canceled FPS was a cyberpunk adventure of 'Half-Life meets Metal Gear Solid'". Polygon. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Crytek Raided". 5 February 2004. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  7. ^ Steel, Wade (30 March 2006). "UBISOFT ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO FAR CRY". IGN. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Crytek and ATI Demo". Archived from the original on 4 November 2007.
  9. ^ "Crysis Announced". Archived from the original on 6 April 2006.
  10. ^ Crytek bought Black Sea Studios Archived 18 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Crytek Opens South Korean Office". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Crytek Buys TimeSplitters Dev. Free Radical". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Crytek Announces CryENGINE 3". Crytek. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  14. ^ "Crytek CryENGINE 3 trade begins". Hardwired. 14 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  15. ^ "CryTek Adds Stereoscopic 3D To Its Game Engine". ApertureGames. 14 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  16. ^ Kietzmann, Ludwig (20 September 2011). "Crytek developing Homefront sequel with THQ". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  17. ^ "THQ Dissolved, Saints Row, Company of Heroes Devs Acquired". IGN. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  18. ^ "Gface, Crytek-backed streaming game network, goes into beta". Joystiq. 5 February 2012. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  19. ^ Fletcher, JC (5 February 2012). "Gface, Crytek-backed streaming game network, goes into beta". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  20. ^ Sandberg, Adam (2 April 2009). "Crytek was way ahead of OnLive". That VideoGame Blog. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  21. ^ Dobra, Andrei (27 April 2009). "Crytek Attempted Cloud Gaming Way Before OnLive". Softpedia. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  22. ^ "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. Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  23. ^ "Crysis 3 Release Date Announced". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  24. ^ "Xbox One to Launch on 22 November 2013 in 13 Markets". Xbox. 22 November 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  25. ^ "Ryse PC release date and system requirements revealed". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  26. ^ "Crytek". Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  27. ^ "How Crytek hired the ex-Vigil team (and formed a new studio) based on one meeting". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  28. ^ a b "Crytek Outlines Future Plans and Focuses on Return to Core Competencies". 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  29. ^ "Crytek sells Black Sea studio in Bulgaria to Sega and The Creative Assembly". 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  30. ^ "The CEO of Crytek has stepped down". Polygon. 28 February 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  31. ^ "Crytek's Video Game Engine is Now Free". 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  32. ^ "China-Konzern will deutsche Gaming-Firma kaufen: Wegen Kriegs-Simulationssoftware?". 13 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  33. ^ "You are being redirected..." museaward.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  34. ^ Yerli, Avni (26 January 2022). "Next Crysis game.... CONFIRMED!". Crysis.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.

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