Crytek has announced significant changes affecting its operations and the future of the Crysis franchise. The company has placed the development of Crysis 4 on hold, citing economic challenges and the need to ensure financial sustainability. This decision has led to the layoff of approximately 15% of Crytek’s workforce, equating to around 60 employees.

The layoffs hit staff across Crytek’s development teams and shared services. The company said it will offer severance.

Here’s the statement, from Crytek founder Avni Yerli, in full:

Like so many of our peers, we aren’t immune to the complex, unfavorable market dynamics that have hit our industry these past several years. It pains me greatly to share today that we must lay off an estimated 15% of our around 400 employees. The layoffs affect development teams and shared services.

This has not been an easy decision to make, as we deeply appreciate the hard work of our talented teams. After putting the development of the next Crysis game on hold in Q3 2024, we have been trying to shift developers over to Hunt: Showdown 1896.

While Hunt: Showdown 1896 is still growing, Crytek cannot continue as before and remain financially sustainable. Even after ongoing efforts to reduce costs and cut operating expenses, we have determined that layoffs are inevitable to move forward. Crytek will offer affected employees severance packages and career assistance services.

We firmly believe in the future of Crytek. With Hunt: Showdown 1896, we have a very strong gaming service and remain fully committed to its operation. We will continue to expand and evolve Hunt: Showdown 1896 with great content and drive our strategy for our engine CRYENGINE.

In response to these challenges, Crytek is redirecting its focus toward Hunt: Showdown 1896, a multiplayer shooter that has experienced notable growth since its 2019 release. The company aims to expand and enhance this title to maintain financial stability.

The future of the Crysis series remains uncertain following these developments. While Crytek has expressed a commitment to its future, the pause in Crysis 4’s development and the workforce reductions have raised concerns among fans about the franchise’s direction.