“Game developer Crytek is in heavy weather”

Game developer Crytek is in dire straits according to the German magazine Gamestar. The magazine even claims that the development studio was on the brink of bankruptcy in early April. Gamestar claims its information is based on six independent sources.

Co-founder Anvi Yerli is said to have assured the magazine that financing for future projects has been secured. Crytek would have a hard time financially, according to the magazine, because of the disappointing sales of Crysis 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome, according to the Neogaf forum. The studio would also suffer from the lack of success for its free-to-play games and the CryEngine would not be licensed as much as originally thought. The only f2p game from Crytek that is still quite successful at the moment is Warface; however, that game would only be popular within Russia. Games that use the CryEngine include Crysis 3 and the unreleased game Star Citizen.

Staff salaries would be delayed and an unknown number of executives would have applied at other studios. In addition, with 800 employees, Crytek would have too many employees to operate profitably. Crytek is said to have had talks with Microsoft about a possible second part in the Ryse series, but Microsoft wants to get their hands on the brand name of the franchise. Crytek doesn’t want that, according to Gamestar.

Despite the failures of virtually every Crytek f2p game, the studio recently announced a new f2p moba game. In Arena of Fate, two teams of five players will compete against each other. Playable figures in the moba consist entirely of historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Robin Hood. The studio is also currently working on a new part of the Homefront series: The Revolution.