Crytek is a German video game company, founded in 1999 by brothers Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli (German nationals of Turkish descent). Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, with eight other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia, Seoul, Shanghai, Istanbul and Austin.[1]
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 Crysis 3 and its supporting CryEngine 3. Crytek has partnerships with Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, NVIDIA, Intel, AMD, FMOD, Scaleform, Xoreax Software, Sparkasse Coburg, 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 (CryEDIT, Exporters), Visuals (Polybump, Lighting & Shadows), Audio (Dynamic Music with full Dolby Digital 5.1 support), A.I. (Easy to Script) and Physics (Rope, Rag Doll, Liquid) plus the uniquely [sic] rendering power of the CryEngine."[2]
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 but ultimately found nothing.[3] That same month, Crytek and Electronic Arts announced a strategic partnership. In December 2004, Crytek and ATI created a special cinematic machinima[4] 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".[5] 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.[6]
On July 14, 2008, Crytek bought Black Sea Studios and renamed it to Crytek Black Sea.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12] On October 14, 2009, the CryEngine 3 engine became available in trade flow for game developers.[13] On March 3, 2010, CryEngine 3 was made compatible with stereoscopic 3D technology.[14] 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.
Latest projects
At E3 2011, Crytek exhibited several new projects, including the Kinect-based 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.[15] After THQ filed for bankruptcy, Crytek acquired the Homefront franchise from THQ entirely on January 22, 2013.[16] On February 2012, Crytek announced a new cloud based social gaming network called GFACE.[17] On April 13, 2012, Crytek released the CryEngine 3.4 SDK which brought full DirectX 11 support to the CryEngine SDK.[18]
Games developed
| Year | Title | Publisher | Platform | Branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Far Cry | Ubisoft | Microsoft Windows | Crytek Frankfurt |
| 2007 | Crysis | Electronic Arts | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade | Crytek Frankfurt |
| 2008 | Crysis Warhead | Electronic Arts | Microsoft Windows | Crytek Budapest |
| 2011 | Crysis 2 | Electronic Arts | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Crytek Frankfurt/Crytek UK |
| 2012 | Fibble – Flick 'n' Roll | Crytek | iOS | Crytek Hungary |
| 2013 | Crysis 3[19] | Electronic Arts | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Crytek Frankfurt/Crytek UK |
| 2013 | Warface | Tencent Holdings, Nexon, Mail.Ru, Trion Worlds | Microsoft Windows | Crytek Kiev[20][21] |
| 2013 | Ryse: Son of Rome | Microsoft Studios | Xbox One | Crytek Frankfurt |
| 2014 | Homefront 2[22] | Crytek | TBA | Crytek UK[23] |
See also
References
- ↑ "Crytek to Feature Cross Platform CryEngine(R)2 at GDC". Reuters. January 29, 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS215263+29-Jan-2008+PRN20080129. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ↑ Crytek: History. Serving History. Retrieved on 2010-08-19
- ↑ Crytek Raided.
- ↑ Crytek and ATI Demo.
- ↑ Crysis Announced.
- ↑ Budapest Studio.
- ↑ Crytek bought Black Sea Studios
- ↑ Crytek Opens South Korean Office
- ↑ Crytek Buys TimeSplitters Dev. Free Radical
- ↑ http://www.crytek.com/news/crytek-continues-to-expand-with-the-arrival-of-crytek-istanbul
- ↑ How Crytek hired the ex-Vigil team (and formed a new studio) based on one meeting. VentureBeat. Retrieved on 3 April 2013
- ↑ Crytek Announces CryENGINE 3. Crytek (March 11, 2009). Retrieved on March 12, 2009[dead link]
- ↑ Crytek CryENGINE 3 trade begins. Hardwired (October 14, 2009). Retrieved on October 14, 2009
- ↑ CryTek Adds Stereoscopic 3D To Its Game Engine. ApertureGames (October 14, 2009). Retrieved on Marc 03, 2010
- ↑ Kietzmann, Ludwig (2011-09-20). Crytek developing Homefront sequel with THQ. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2011-09-21
- ↑ THQ Dissolved, Saints Row, Company of Heroes Devs Acquired. IGN. Retrieved on 23 January 2013
- ↑ Gface, Crytek-backed streaming game network, goes into beta. Joystiq (2012-02-05). Retrieved on 2012-02-05
- ↑ CryEngine 3.4 SDK, Crytek today announced the arrival of a feature-filled update to its award-winning game development solution, CryENGINE 3.. Crytek (2012-04-13). Retrieved on 2012-04-17
- ↑ http://www.crytek.com/news/crytek-takes-aim-with-crysis-3--the-first-blockbuster-shooter-of-2013
- ↑ Crytek’s new game revealed to be Warface.
- ↑ Please welcome Crytek’s latest PC exclusive: Warface.
- ↑ Crytek UK reigniting Homefront. GameSpot (2011-09-20). Retrieved on 2011-12-03
- ↑ Kietzmann, Ludwig (September 20, 2011). Crytek developing Homefront sequel with THQ. Joystiq. Retrieved on September 21, 2011
External links
Template:Crytek Template:Video gaming industry in Germany