Crytek In Deep Trouble

[Stuka87]

The wiki explains it all

"Crytek has partnerships with Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Microsoft Studios"

EA runs all it owns into the ground, Ubisoft while makes some great games i quickly becoming EA Jr. and MS.. well unless you drank the kool aid is millions in red in the entertainment division (good thing they have more money then god) . The losses it took in the old Xbox days and when the early 360 burnt out in weeks where NEVER even close to being covered by the profits made when the 360 was a success (the total budget over 15 years is still RED as it comes). Sure the last few years are profit.. but a couple years 3-400 million profit don't cover 6-7 years of 3-400 million losses. (those number are just figures, google the exact numbers if you want (or get some shares))


the latest Buzz is SONY buying them.. not A fan of that idea either.

I don't think it has anything to do with EA/UBISoft/MS. The issue is with how the company was run. Its Crytek's fault, period. They expanded like crazy, had WAY too many employees (Over 600) for the number of games that were being released.

 

[smackababy]

Do the xbox 360 losses include the revenue from microsofts cut of every game sold for the xbox?

I believe so. The 360 as a whole was profitable I believe (even with the RRoD), but it suffered some losses early on (as all consoles do, having to make up R&D and possibly being sold at a loss). The Xbox is what is tanking the entire division. It was just a black hole for money, but it served a purpose. It got them a brand people liked (even if it cost them a few billion).

 

[Lonyo]

The wiki explains it all

"Crytek has partnerships with Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Microsoft Studios"

EA runs all it owns into the ground, Ubisoft while makes some great games i quickly becoming EA Jr. and MS.. well unless you drank the kool aid is millions in red in the entertainment division (good thing they have more money then god) . The losses it took in the old Xbox days and when the early 360 burnt out in weeks where NEVER even close to being covered by the profits made when the 360 was a success (the total budget over 15 years is still RED as it comes). Sure the last few years are profit.. but a couple years 3-400 million profit don't cover 6-7 years of 3-400 million losses. (those number are just figures, google the exact numbers if you want (or get some shares))


the latest Buzz is SONY buying them.. not A fan of that idea either.

EA publishes Crytek's games. They don't own the IP or the developer.
And if you compare FarCry with Crysis, it's fairly obvious that EA had minimal input, since Crysis was basically Crytek's version of FC2 but instead of mutants it was aliens, and with a brand new engine.

 

[gorcorps]

The wiki explains it all

"Crytek has partnerships with Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Microsoft Studios"

EA runs all it owns into the ground, Ubisoft while makes some great games i quickly becoming EA Jr. and MS.. well unless you drank the kool aid is millions in red in the entertainment division (good thing they have more money then god) . The losses it took in the old Xbox days and when the early 360 burnt out in weeks where NEVER even close to being covered by the profits made when the 360 was a success (the total budget over 15 years is still RED as it comes). Sure the last few years are profit.. but a couple years 3-400 million profit don't cover 6-7 years of 3-400 million losses. (those number are just figures, google the exact numbers if you want (or get some shares))


the latest Buzz is SONY buying them.. not A fan of that idea either.

I dunno, Sucker Punch and Naughty Dog put out good games and they're owned by Sony. Might actually not be such a bad outcome.

 

[smackababy]

I dunno, Sucker Punch and Naughty Dog put out good games and they're owned by Sony. Might actually not be such a bad outcome.

Naughty Dog had a history of not being terrible before Sony bought them. Crash Bandicoot was a great evolution of a platformer into the 3d world. Sony let them continue to work how they wanted. They also set them up and let them work on good IP (they started Jack and Daxter right after joining Sony). Can Crytek do anything other than graphics? Cyrsis and FarCry don't really give me the inspiration they can.

They would be far better off being bought as a company that develops solely engine technology.


Granted, Sony having control might be a good thing. Keeping the technical guys from Crytek and forcing them to work with good game designers and writers could have amazing results.

 

[leper84]

So I wonder if Crysis 2 is back on Steam (and on sale) because there is no more DLC to fight over, or if its Crytek and EA taking any money they can get while they can?

I try not to think this way because 800 people loosing their jobs is no good, but I can't help feeling this is a dance on Crytek's grave moment for turning their backs on PC gaming.

 

[PowerYoga]

crysis 2 goes on sale very often, and it's a very old game relatively speaking. Stuff like that goes on sale all the time and is not really indicative of how Crytek is doing, the layoffs and studios stopping work is a better indicator of things to come.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Naughty Dog had a history of not being terrible before Sony bought them. Crash Bandicoot was a great evolution of a platformer into the 3d world. Sony let them continue to work how they wanted. They also set them up and let them work on good IP (they started Jack and Daxter right after joining Sony). Can Crytek do anything other than graphics? Cyrsis and FarCry don't really give me the inspiration they can.

They would be far better off being bought as a company that develops solely engine technology.


Granted, Sony having control might be a good thing. Keeping the technical guys from Crytek and forcing them to work with good game designers and writers could have amazing results.

Yeah it might be good for Sony because they can start using Crytek in their games. Ryse on XB1 was pretty sub-par as a game. Mindless fun for me really, but the engine itself was pretty good for a console. Likely there can be even more done with that engine but it needs good writers and game designers, not just fancy graphics.

 

[poohbear]

The question is whos gonna buy a game engine when all the major publishers are pushing their own tech? EA has Frostbitd 3, ubisoft the dream engine, and Epic their unreal 4 engine & even that is being ignored. Seems theres not much of a market for game engines since the major publishers decided to use their own & save money on that end.

 

[Maximilian]

Naughty Dog had a history of not being terrible before Sony bought them. Crash Bandicoot was a great evolution of a platformer into the 3d world. Sony let them continue to work how they wanted. They also set them up and let them work on good IP (they started Jack and Daxter right after joining Sony). Can Crytek do anything other than graphics? Cyrsis and FarCry don't really give me the inspiration they can.

They would be far better off being bought as a company that develops solely engine technology.


Granted, Sony having control might be a good thing. Keeping the technical guys from Crytek and forcing them to work with good game designers and writers could have amazing results.

Farcry and Crysis were really fun, a bit like a sandbox merged with an FPS, especially Farcry in its time.

Might well have been luck though, Crysis 2 and everything after were boring as hell.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The question is whos gonna buy a game engine when all the major publishers are pushing their own tech? EA has Frostbitd 3, ubisoft the dream engine, and Epic their unreal 4 engine & even that is being ignored. Seems theres not much of a market for game engines since the major publishers decided to use their own & save money on that end.

Console first party studio can benefit from the engine.

 

[exar333]

Farcry and Crysis were really fun, a bit like a sandbox merged with an FPS, especially Farcry in its time.

Might well have been luck though, Crysis 2 and everything after were boring as hell.

Totally agree, and that is why I loved it.

Honestly, I was so distracted by the fact you could pretty much explore where you wanted in such a beautiful landscape, I forgot what I was doing in the game. I never finished it, but had a absolute blast doing the parts that I did.

 

[werepossum]

The question is whos gonna buy a game engine when all the major publishers are pushing their own tech? EA has Frostbitd 3, ubisoft the dream engine, and Epic their unreal 4 engine & even that is being ignored. Seems theres not much of a market for game engines since the major publishers decided to use their own & save money on that end.

There's an easy answer to that - become the high end game engine for the little developer. It's just not an answer that can support 800 employees.

Doesn't really matter to PC gamers as it appears that either Sony will buy them or they will go under, and if the former it's a foregone conclusion that they will adapt the engine to be Playstation only.

 

[Stringjam]

I still play through Crysis (and sometimes Warhead) about once a year. I love the freedom of approach in the level design.

The mechanics are so superior to any Crysis after. There is real stealth in this game. You can crawl, prone, and lean around objects and vegetation. What can you do in Crysis 2 and 3? Cloak. Boring. The suit mechanics are just sloppy, laggy, and overpowered in everything after. Hate the jump delay.

I thought the aliens were awesome in Crysis....freaky-legged flying things that were fast on attack.

I think the biggest problem with the game was the Korean AI. Let's face it, they were lifeless and boring. There was just no variety there. The navigation was good, and playing the game on Delta (especially modded) can certainly be tricky, but they just had zero personality.

It's not like when you're playing something like F.E.A.R, where NPCs seem to express a lot more personality and emotion.

I still miss how exciting that whole period was, with the active CryMod community and all the map building and what have you. I had a blast with the multiplayer as well (especially Crysis Wars).

I would like to think if they would have just developed where Crysis / Warhead left off instead of completely jumping ship, things might have turned out differently for the series.

 

[Dankk]

Crytek has just sold off the Homefront IP (along with all the code/assets), and Homefront 2 is now being made by Deep Silver, who is propping up a new studio in Nottingham where they will presumably continue development on the game. Most of the developers from British Crytek are transferring over to the new studio under the new publisher.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Basically, Crytek is so desperate for money, someone made an offer for Homefront and they took it. Makes sense. The same thing happened back in 2006 when they sold off the Far Cry series to Ubisoft.

Also notable: Crytek has supposedly shut down all of it's operations in the US, except for a skeleton crew handling licensing of the CryEngine. US Crytek developers have now been offered positions in Germany.

Press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Koch Media Acquires Homefront® IP – New Development Studio Founded
Nottingham-based Deep Silver Dambuster Studios to take over development of Homefront: The Revolution
Larkspur, Calif., July 30, 2014 – Today, Koch Media together with its publishing label Deep Silver announces that it has acquired the Homefront® brand and all coherent assets from Crytek. This includes Homefront: The Revolution which was previously announced on June 2nd, 2014. The development will be continued in newly founded, Nottingham-based Deep Silver Dambuster Studios.
“We are thrilled to see another great IP joining the Deep Silver universe,” says Dr. Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Koch Media Group. “We strongly believe in the potential of Homefront: The Revolution and trust in the new team to continue the path they have been walking in the last years.”
Deep Silver Dambuster Studios is the third development studio within the Koch Media Group, joining Deep Silver Volition and Deep Silver Fishlabs.
About Deep Silver Deep Silver develops and publishes interactive games for all platforms, seeking to deliver top-quality products that provide immersive game experiences driven by the desires of the gaming community. The company has published more than 200 games worldwide since 2003, including the best-selling zombie action Dead Island™ franchise, the critically acclaimed Metro™: Last Light and the smash hit action adventure Saints Row IV™. Deep Silver is a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Media, GmbH, and includes the renowned development studio Deep Silver Volition, based in Champaign, IL. For more information, please visitwww.deepsilver.com or follow us on twitter at @deepsilver.
Aubrey Norris Director of Marketing & PR - North America

 

[futurefields]

This game is gonna be awful.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

This game is gonna be awful.

Just like the first one.

 

[lamedude]

Crytek bought it from THQ a year and a half ago so lets start the over/under for DeepSilver going bankrupt there.

 

[ShintaiDK]

So that pretty much seals it. CryTek only sells its CryEngine licenses now to collect more money to the creditors. So nothing more from that company in the future.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Crytek has just sold off the Homefront IP (along with all the code/assets), and Homefront 2 is now being made by Deep Silver, who is propping up a new studio in Nottingham where they will presumably continue development on the game. Most of the developers from British Crytek are transferring over to the new studio under the new publisher.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Basically, Crytek is so desperate for money, someone made an offer for Homefront and they took it. Makes sense. The same thing happened back in 2006 when they sold off the Far Cry series to Ubisoft.

Also notable: Crytek has supposedly shut down all of it's operations in the US, except for a skeleton crew handling licensing of the CryEngine. US Crytek developers have now been offered positions in Germany.

Press release:

Seriously, how many people are going to shift their family half way across the world to work for a company that's on the brink of going bust? Madness.

 

[Artorias]

Seriously, how many people are going to shift their family half way across the world to work for a company that's on the brink of going bust? Madness.

Would you rather they not have offered a position at all? At least they gave an option to those willing to move.

I read an official statement from Crytek a couple weeks ago saying they had secured funding for the foreseeable future, maybe this is part of that plan to downsize and not fold into bankruptcy?

 

[irishScott]

I'm curious how this will affect Star Citizen. It's still years away from completion and exclusively utilizes the Cryengine.

 

[SLU Aequitas]

I'm curious how this will affect Star Citizen. It's still years away from completion and exclusively utilizes the Cryengine.

From what I understand, they have a complete lifetime license and their own staff who are familiar with the engine...and I'm sure they're probably looking to pick up one or two additional staff.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I would guess they now have a decent pool of very talented developers who deeply understand the CryEngine code and are recently on the job market....

 

[Face2Face]

So no Crysis 4 to melt our PC's in 2016??....