Crytek secures capital as it finally comes clean about its financial issues

Crysis developer Crytek is finally talking about its money troubles.

The studio, which is responsible for a number of online games and the powerful CryEngine development kit, has found itself at the center of rumors regarding its inability to pay staff. The company has refused to comment on or acknowledge the truth of those reports until now. Today, Crytek admits that it is in a “transitional phase” and that it needed cash to continue operating. The company claims it secured additional capital, but it declined to comment on the details of the deal or who provided the funds.

Crytek provided the following statement to GamesBeat:

In recent weeks, there have been repeated reports and rumors relating to financial problems at Crytek. Having already given an update to staff across all our studios, we are now in a position to share more details with members of the press and public.

Internally, we have acknowledged that the flow of information to employees has not been as good as it should have, however we hope you understand that communicating details of our plans publicly has not always been possible.

Like the games industry as a whole, Crytek has been in a transitional phase. Our evolution from a development studio to an Online-Publisher has required us to refocus our strategies. These challenges go along with an increased demand for capital which we have secured.

We can now concentrate on the long term strategic direction of Crytek and our core competencies. We kindly ask for your understanding, that we won’t be communicating further details about our developments and progress.

Ultimately, with our organization, capitalization, portfolio and technologies we have now laid the foundations for securing Crytek’s future — not just in the short term, but also long term.

Through this period of speculation, we are thankful for the support and encouragement we’ve received from our community and our partners, and for the contribution all of our staff have made. We remain committed to doing what we are best known for and trying to develop the best interactive experiences and technology possible for everyone who loves gaming.

We are confident that we will be able to share more positive news on Crytek’s progress soon.

The rumors and leaks surrounding Crytek over the last few months painted a grim picture of the studio. Reports claimed developers at Crytek’s studios around the world weren’t getting paid. Dozens of developers apparently walked off the job at Homefront: The Revolution developer Crytek UK, and several top members of that team left to look for other work.

When asked at the time about those issues, Crytek told GamesBeat that the reports were inaccurate. Now, given today’s statement, it seems like the company was purposely misleading the public — although it now claims that was due to its attempts to secure new funding.

We’ve asked Crytek for more details about the source of its capital and the future of its games, and we’ll update with any new information.

Homefront: The Revolution is Crytek’s next big release. The studio has said in the past that the game is coming in 2015 to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC — although it’s possible that staffing issues could cause a delay.