Crytek

Lore & Background

Crytek was founded by the Turkish-German brothers Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli in September 1999 in Coburg, Germany. Its first major game project was Engalus, a first-person shooter with a cyberpunk theme and role-playing elements, which was first privately shown at E3 2000 but subsequently cancelled. Crytek was approached by Ubisoft to develop X-Isle into a full AAA game, which evolved into Far Cry, released in March 2004. In February 2004, German police raided Crytek offices on an ex-intern's claim of illegal software use, but no charges were pressed. That same month, Crytek and Electronic Arts announced a strategic partnership to develop a new gaming franchise, which would become the Crysis series. In January 2006, Crytek announced the development of Crysis. In April 2006, Crytek moved to new offices in Frankfurt. On 11 May 2006, its satellite studio in Kyiv was upgraded to a full development studio. About a week later, Crytek announced a new studio in Budapest, Hungary. Crysis was released in November 2007. In September 2008, an expansion entitled Crysis Warhead was released. In October 2011, Crysis was released on PS3 and Xbox 360. On 14 July 2008, Crytek bought Black Sea Studios and renamed it to Crytek Black Sea. On 17 November 2008, Crytek opened an office in South Korea named Crytek, Ltd. On 3 February 2009, Crytek purchased Free Radical Design and renamed it to Crytek UK. In March 2009, Crytek announced CryEngine 3. Crytek released Crysis 2 in March 2011. At E3 2011, Crytek exhibited Ryse: Son of Rome. In September 2011, THQ and Crytek announced a partnership to develop Homefront 2. After THQ filed for bankruptcy, Crytek acquired the Homefront franchise in January 2013. In February 2012, Crytek announced a cloud based social gaming network called Gface. Crytek released Crysis 3 in February 2013 and Ryse: Son of Rome in November 2013. On 17 January 2013, Crytek officially opened an office in Istanbul, Turkey. On 28 January 2013, Crytek opened Crytek USA in Austin, Texas. In June 2014, reports surfaced that Crytek had missed wage payments and withheld bonuses for Crytek UK and Crytek USA employees. In July 2014, Crytek announced a strategic deal where the rights to Homefront and the Crytek UK staff were transferred to Koch Media. Crytek USA was restructured to remain an engine support team. Crytek announced CRYENGINE V on 22 March 2016. On 20 December

In Their Own Story

The briefing room smelled of stale coffee and diesel. Sergeant Ruiz pinned the satellite imagery to the wall—three targets, two access corridors, a window of ninety minutes before the sun crested the ridge and turned the valley into a white-hot killbox. He looked at the four operators spread across the table, each already checking magazine counts, each already choosing their route. No one was waiting for a fixed path. The mission was a cage, not a corridor. Outside, the engine hummed to life, and the world beyond the glass was already breathing in dust and heat, indifferent to the men about to walk into it.

Reader's Guide

Crytek is best known for developing the first entry of the Far Cry series, the Crysis series, and the open world nature of its games which showcase the company's CryEngine. As of August 2024, Crytek is the largest game developer in Germany with 405 employees.

Did You Know?

• Crytek was founded by the Turkish-German brothers Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli in September 1999 in Coburg, Germany.
• Crytek's first major game project was Engalus, a first-person shooter with a cyberpunk theme and role-playing elements, which was cancelled.
• In February 2004, German police raided Crytek offices on an ex-intern's claim of illegal software use, but no charges were pressed.
• Crytek's former studios included Crytek Black Sea in Sofia, Bulgaria, Crytek UK in Nottingham, and Crytek USA in Austin, Texas.
• Crytek announced the fourth entry of the Crysis franchise on 26 January 2022, but the game was put on hold in 2025.