Crytek shuts down 5 game studios after a weak 2016

Crytek has closed five game studios and is concentrating all of its resources in its remaining shops in Frankfurt, Germany, and Kiev, Ukraine.

The Frankfurt-based company — maker of hits such as the Far Cry and Crysis first-person shooters and the CryEngine game development engine — is shutting studios in Hungary, Bulgaria, South Korea, China, and Turkey. This follows months of failing to make payroll as the company scrambled to get more money.

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It’s a tough day for gaming, as Crytek has been known for creating award-winning original hits, including Far Cry, the Crysis series, Ryse: Son of Rome, Warface, and The Climb (a VR game). Part of the problem is that the company shifted resources to virtual reality, but this sector isn’t making money because the player base is so small.

Crytek said in a statement that the the company will “refocus on its core strengths of developing innovative games and game-development technology.”

The company will work on “premium intellectual properties,” suggesting it will focus on Crysis and Warface (the latter is a popular online game built in Ukraine).

CryEngine will remain a core pillar of Crytek’s overall strategy, with enterprise licensees and indie developers alike continuing to receive regular engine updates.

“Undergoing such transitions is far from easy, and we’d like to sincerely thank each and every staff member – past and present – for their hard work and commitment to Crytek. These changes are part of the essential steps we are taking to ensure Crytek is a healthy and sustainable business moving forward that can continue to attract and nurture our industry’s top talent,” Crytek cofounder and managing director Avni Yerli said in a statement.

“The reasons for this have been communicated internally along the way. Our focus now lies entirely on the core strengths that have always defined Crytek – world-class developers, state-of-the-art technology and innovative game development, and we believe that going through this challenging process will make us a more agile, viable, and attractive studio, primed for future success.”