Crytek Says It's in a "Transitional Phase," Responds to Reports of Financial Troubles

Following a number of reports claiming that Crytek had canceled games and was losing staff after not paying them, the studio has shared an official statement with GameSpot addressing what's been happening and what its future holds.

Having filled in its employees "across all [its] studios" on its status, Crytek says it can now address the matter publicly. (Previously, it had either declined to comment or outright denied reports about any problems.) It describes itself as being being in a "transitional phase" and admits, "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."

Crytek says its "evolution from a development studio to an online publisher has required us to refocus our strategies." This shift required additional capital, which the company says it has now "secured." There had been reports that Crytek would be acquired by another company, such as World of Tanks developer Wargaming.

"Internally, we have acknowledged that the flow of information to employees has not been as good as it should have [been]."

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

It did not address any specifics about where individual studios or projects stand, only saying, "We are confident that we will be able to share more positive news on Crytek's progress soon."

Reports had been circulating for some time that Crytek's various studios were in turmoil. Bonuses were reportedly withheld last year at Crytek UK (developer of the upcoming Homefront: The Revolution) and staff were not paid on time more than once. Multiple projects, including a sequel to the Xbox One-exclusive Ryse: Son of Rome (development of which was described by one source as a "disaster"), were said to have been canceled. Just recently, we learned that The Revolution game director Hasit Zala and a lead engineer, Tiago Sousa, had left the company.

Crytek is a German-based developer founded in 1999. In addition to developing games like Crysis and the original Far Cry, it's also responsible for the CryEngine game engine, which has been used in a number of non-Crytek games, including upcoming titles Evolve and Star Citizen. In recent years, the company has made an effort to be more forward-thinking; it's talked about how the future of console gaming is free-to-play, which it's gotten involved in with the release of free-to-play FPS Warface. It also launched its own online gaming platform, Gface.

We'll have more on the status of Crytek as this story continues to develop.

Crytek's full statement:

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.