Crytek is a German video game company, founded in 1999 by brothers Cevat, Avni, and Faruk
Yerli, that is headquartered in Frankfurt.
Crytek has seven other studios, in Kiev, Budapest, Sofia, Seoul, Shanghai, Istanbul and Austin.
The company is best known for developing Far Cry and the Crysis series, the open world
nature of their games which showcase the company's CryEngine, and for pushing the limits on PC
specifications to showcase the most modern graphics and gameplay.
Their most recent major product is Ryse: Son of Rome and its supporting CryEngine 4th Generation.
Crytek has partnerships with Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Microsoft Studios, NVIDIA, Intel,
AMD, FMOD, Scaleform, Xoreax Software, Sparkasse Coburg, Cloud Imperium Games, and Rating Services.
History Far Cry
Crytek was founded by the Yerli brothers in 1999 in Coburg, Germany.
Crytek first attracted publicity at the 2000 ECTS with their tech demo at the NVIDIA booth.
For several years thereafter, they released numerous demos of a game called X-Isle, which
ultimately evolved into Far Cry.
On May 2, 2002, Crytek announced the game engine CryEngine.
In 2003, Crytek attended the Game Developers Conference, where they showcased their new
engine and its technology.
"We've got awesome demonstrations planned which will showcase the very latest CryEngine
technology, including Tools, Visuals, Audio, A.I. and Physics plus the uniquely [sic] rendering
power of the CryEngine."
Also in 2003, Crytek was at ECTS again, where Far Cry was awarded "Best PC Game".
In the same month, Crytek modified CryEngine to be optimized for AMD64.
In February 2004, German police carried out a morning raid on Crytek offices, acting on
an ex-intern's claim that Crytek was using software illegally.
The police investigated for more software copies than licenses purchased.
That same month, Crytek and Electronic Arts announced a strategic partnership.
In December 2004, Crytek and ATI created a special cinematic machinima to demonstrate
the future of PC gaming.
Crysis On January 23, 2006, Crytek announced the
development of Crysis, promising that it would be an original first person shooter with a
new kind of gameplay challenge requiring "adaptive tactics".
The game later won several Best PC Game awards from E3 and Games Convention.
In April 2006, Crytek moved to new offices in Frankfurt.
The first public demonstration of Crytek's CryEngine 2 was on January 23, 2007, one year
after Crysis was announced.
It has been licensed by many companies such as Avatar Reality, WeMade Entertainment, Entropia
Universe, XLGames, Reloaded Studios, 1st Educational Institution, and Games Academy GmbH.
On September 12, 2008, an expansion of Crysis entitled Crysis Warhead was released as a
PC-exclusive game.
Company expansion On May 11, 2007, Crytek announced that their
satellite studio in Kyiv, Ukraine, had been upgraded to a full development studio, giving
the company its second development studio.
The second studio is currently working on a game based on Crytek's new intellectual
property.
About a week after the upgrade of the Kyiv studio, Crytek announced a new studio in Budapest,
Hungary.
Like the Kiev studio, the Budapest studio focused heavily on development with the CryEngine
2.
On July 14, 2008, Crytek bought Black Sea Studios and renamed it to Crytek Black Sea.
On November 17, 2008, Crytek opened an office in South Korea named Crytek, Ltd.
The office is headed by Young Mok Park and focused on CryEngine 2 licensing to Korean
clients.
On February 3, 2009, Crytek purchased Free Radical Design, a British video game company
known for the TimeSplitters series, and renamed the company to Crytek UK.
On January 17, 2013, Crytek officially opened an office in Istanbul.
It is headed by Serhat Bekdemir, and will focus on Crytek’s Warface and GFACE brands,
as well as supporting the growth of Crytek’s free-to-play business.
On January 28, 2013, Crytek opened a new studio in Austin, Texas, Crytek USA, consisting primarily
of former Vigil Games employees.
The studio is led by David L. Adams, one of the co-founders of Vigil.
CryEngine 3 and Crysis 2 On March 11, 2009, Crytek announced on the
company's website that it would introduce CryEngine 3 at the 2009 Game Developers Conference,
from March 25–27.
This new engine was developed for use on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PCs.
On October 14, 2009, the CryEngine 3 engine became available in trade flow for game developers.
On March 3, 2010, CryEngine 3 was made compatible with stereoscopic 3D technology.
On March 22, 2011, Crytek released Crysis 2, a direct sequel to the original game, in
North America.
The game was subsequently released in Europe on March 24, and in Australia on March 25.
Ryse and Homefront At E3 2011, Crytek exhibited several new projects,
including the action game Ryse.
On September 20, 2011, THQ and Crytek announced a partnership in which Homefront 2 will be
developed by Crytek UK using the latest CryEngine technology.
After THQ filed for bankruptcy, Crytek acquired the Homefront franchise from THQ entirely
on January 22, 2013.
On February 2012, Crytek announced a new cloud based social gaming network called GFACE.
On April 13, 2012, Crytek released the CryEngine 3.4 SDK which brought full DirectX 11 support
to the CryEngine SDK.
Crytek also released Crysis 3 in February 2013.
Restructuring In June 2014, reports surfaced that Crytek
had missed wage payments and withheld bonuses for Crytek UK and Crytek USA employees, and
the company responded that the company was in a "transitional phase" as it secured capital
for future projects, with a particular emphasis on online gaming.
On 30 July 2014, Crytek announced that due to an internal restructuring, Homefront: The
Revolution, originally developed by Crytek UK, would sold to Koch Media, the parent company
of Deep Silver, while lay off most employees from Crytek UK.
Crytek USA also suffered from the lay-off.
Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age, an upcoming free to play shooter is also transferred from
Crytek USA to Crytek Frankfurt.
Latest Project Crytek is currently working on the PC Port
of Ryse: Son of Rome and 3 free-to-play projects, which include Arena of Fate, Hunt: Horrors
of the Gilded Age and constant update for the already released game, Warface
Subsidiaries Crytek Black Sea in Sofia, Bulgaria, founded
in 2001 as Black Sea Studios, acquired and renamed by Crytek in 2008.
Crytek Budapest in Budapest, Hungary, founded in 2007.
Crytek Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey, founded in 2012.
Crytek Shanghai in Shanghai, China, founded in 2012.
Crytek Seoul in Seoul, South Korea, founded in 2010.
Crytek Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine, founded in 2006.
Crytek USA in Austin, Texas, founded in 2010 Defunct
Crytek UK in Nottingham, UK, founded in 1999 as Free Radical Design, acquired and renamed
by Crytek in 2009 Games developed
See also CryEngine
GFACE Crytek UK
References
External links Official website