Crysis 4 ‘On Hold’ as Developer Crytek Announces Layoffs Affecting Up to 60 Staff

Crytek, facing challenging market conditions, announces layoffs impacting approximately 15% of its workforce, totaling 60 employees out of 400. While their popular title, Hunt: Showdown, continues to grow, the company states that maintaining its current operational structure is financially unsustainable.

In a statement released by founder Avni Yerli, Crytek explains that after halting development of the next Crysis game in Q3 2024 and shifting resources to Hunt: Showdown, cost-cutting measures proved insufficient to prevent layoffs. Affected employees will receive severance packages and career support.

The layoffs impact various development teams and shared services. Crytek reiterates its commitment to Hunt: Showdown, promising continued expansion and content updates. They also remain dedicated to their CRYENGINE technology.

The news follows the previously unannounced and subsequently canceled Crysis Next, a battle royale-inspired project. This project was scrapped in favor of Crysis 4, announced in January 2022, which is currently on hold.

The Crysis franchise, renowned for its visually stunning graphics, innovative nanosuit abilities, and open-world gameplay, last saw a mainline release with Crysis 3 in 2013. While remasters of earlier titles have been released, updates on Crysis 4 have been scarce since its initial announcement three years prior. The original Crysis (2007) famously became a benchmark for PC hardware capabilities, giving rise to the popular phrase, "But can it run Crysis?"