Crytek, facing challenging market conditions, announced layoffs impacting approximately 15% of its 400-person workforce, or roughly 60 employees. This difficult decision, according to founder Avni Yerli, stems from the need to maintain financial stability despite the growth of Hunt: Showdown.
Yerli's statement explains that after pausing development of Crysis 4 in Q3 2024 and transferring staff to Hunt: Showdown, cost-cutting measures proved insufficient to prevent layoffs. Affected employees will receive severance packages and career support.
The layoffs impact both development and shared services teams. Crytek remains committed to the ongoing success of Hunt: Showdown, planning continued content updates and further development of its CRYENGINE.
The news follows the previously unannounced cancellation of a battle royale-inspired Crysis project, codenamed Crysis Next, in favor of Crysis 4, which was announced in January 2022. The Crysis franchise, known for its visually stunning graphics and demanding performance requirements (famously spawning the phrase "But can it run Crysis?"), hasn't seen a mainline release since Crysis 3 in 2013, though remasters of earlier titles have been released. The future of Crysis 4 remains uncertain following this recent development.
