A Brief History of Crytek Studios: From the First Far Cry to the Crysis 4 Freeze

In February 2025, it became known that Crytek was experiencing problems. Mass layoffs of employees began, and the fate of the fourth Crysis was in question. At the same time, support for Hunt: Showdown and the development of the CryEngine engine will continue. We decided to figure out why this happened and what to expect in the future. At the same time, we suggest recalling the history of the studio.

Crytek was founded in 1999 by the programmer brothers Avni, Cevat and Faruk Yerli. They decided not to buy an engine from other companies, but to create their own, which was called CryEngine. Its very first version was ready in 2002, and a year later the studio's first game was announced. We are talking about the original Far Cry.

2004 was a particularly rich year for first-person shooters. We have dedicated separate articles to Doom 3 and Half-Life 2, but then Painkiller, Halo 2 and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. However, Far Cry was not lost against their background. It appeared on store shelves before its closest competitors and quickly found its audience.

The game's plot can be called a variation on the theme of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by Herbert Wells. The local story centers on genetic experiments on animals, which lead to the emergence of strong and aggressive mutants. The main character, Jack Carver, destroys man-made monsters and numerous mercenaries, and then kills the mad scientist himself.

But players fell in love with Far Cry not for the script, but for the gameplay. It is remembered for its large open spaces, which are proposed to move around in jeeps, boats and hang gliders. Add to this the quality shooting mechanics and smart human opponents who acted competently both at long and close range. The game was published by Ubisoft. On March 30, 2006, it bought all rights to the Far Cry series, and its further development is no longer associated with Crytek.

The CryEngine engine was originally written for the studio's own games. However, other publishers liked it and acquired the rights to use it. For example, it is the basis of Aion: Tower of Eternity, an MMORPG game from South Korean NCSoft.

After Far Cry, Crytek studio took up the development of a new engine. The second version of CryEngine was amazing at the time — it allowed to create large open spaces, but at the same time to maintain high detail of each object. A kind of demonstration of its capabilities was the studio's new game called Crysis.

Technology turned out to be the main advantage of this project. Game design is weak — it frankly lacked direction and well-thought-out situations that would make you think outside the box. The level with reduced gravity is unusual, but boring from a gameplay point of view, and flights on an airplane are completely crookedly implemented. It is not surprising that they were cut out in the console versions of the game, which were released later. Most of the time, we fight against Koreans and aliens using firearms, equipment and the abilities of the nanosuit. It has a number of modes, including camouflage, but stealth here also works poorly.

Meanwhile, advertising of the Crysis engine turned out to be extremely successful. Later it was used in ArcheAge, Entropia Universe, Panzar: Forged by chaos and other projects. Moreover, it was used not only in games. The construction company ImagTP used it to create 3D models of future buildings, the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences used CryEngine 2 for presentations at lectures, and the Florida College of Art and Design Ringling needed it for educational purposes.

The engine receives regular updates. For example, the fourth version of CryEngine powers games such as Prey (2017), Homefront: The Revolution, Evolve, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, and the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

But let's get back to the Crysis series. The second and third parts were not as innovative as the first, but they improved the use of the nanosuit. This time, we were offered spectacular blockbusters without revelations, with excellent graphics and music by Hans Zimmer (Hans Florian Zimmer). In 2021, they received remasters on current consoles and PC.

In parallel with Crysis 3, the studio worked on the action game Ryse: Son of Rome, which took place in the Roman Empire of the 1st century AD. It was originally planned as a Kineсt exclusive, but was eventually released as part of the Xbox One launch lineup. The game was praised for its cutting-edge graphics for 2013 and its depiction of the realistic violence of the time. However, the two-button combat mechanics and monotonous gameplay spoiled the enjoyment of the game. Mixed reviews from critics and a sales failure meant that the game was quickly forgotten.

But the same can't be said about Hunt: Showdown, a multiplayer action game set in Louisiana in the late 19th century. Terrible creatures have appeared in the swamp lands of this southeastern state, and the government is ready to generously reward those who help get rid of them. However, hunters will attack not only monsters, but also each other. If you manage to take the trophy from the killed monster, then the entire reward will be credited to your account. An important role in the gameplay is played by the search for another hellish creature.

According to representatives of Crytek, Hunt: Showdown was extremely successful. This year it will be 6 years old, but the developers continue to support the project, despite the crisis that arose within the company.

In addition to the games we talked about above, we can note Robinson: The Journey and the Climb dilogy for Oculus Quest virtual reality glasses, as well as the mobile The Collectables. But these are niche projects that did not interest a wide audience. The studio was expected, first of all, to produce the fourth part of the Crysis series. The official announcement took place on January 26, 2022. At the same time, we were shown the first teaser, and Crytek CEO Avni Yerli said that it would be a real next-generation shooter. However, since then we have not received any specific information about the project. Everything was limited to statements that development is going according to plan.

In February 2025, it became known that the company would undergo mass layoffs. The official reason was “difficult conditions in the gaming industry.” 15% of the staff, or about 60 people, will lose their jobs. The remaining team will continue to support Hunt: Showdown and modify the CryEngine engine. But the studio will no longer be able to handle Crysis 4. Development has not been canceled, but frozen for an indefinite period. This means that the game is definitely not worth waiting for in the coming years.

It seems unlikely to us that revenues from a good, but not very popular engine and a 2020 project will grow sharply in the foreseeable future. At the time of writing, Hunt: Showdown has only 15 thousand players online on Steam.

I would like to draw attention to one more point. After the Crysis trilogy, the studio has not had a single really high-profile project. If in the mid-2000s Crytek was spoken of as an advanced developer who is at the forefront of progress, today they are mentioned out of old memory for past merits. In theory, the situation could have been corrected by a high-profile release, but it was decided to abandon a promising AAA project. In our opinion, if a risky decision is not made in the end, and everything is limited to supporting finished products, then the layoffs in the company will continue until it is liquidated. Or sold to other owners. But we will be happy to be wrong.

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Have you played Crytek games? What do you think about the future of the studio? Share your opinions in the comments!