Crysis 4 ‘On Hold’ as Developer Crytek Announces Layoffs Affecting Up to 60 Staff

Crytek, facing challenging market conditions, announces layoffs impacting 60 employees, approximately 15% of its 400-person workforce. The decision, announced via a tweet and statement from founder Avni Yerli, follows the postponement of Crysis 4 in late 2024 and efforts to consolidate resources around the growing Hunt: Showdown.

Despite Hunt: Showdown's success, Crytek cited unsustainable financial practices as the reason for the layoffs. The affected staff includes members of development teams and shared services, with Crytek promising severance packages and career support.

Yerli's full statement emphasizes the difficult choice, highlighting the company's attempts to reduce costs and shift development focus to Hunt: Showdown before concluding that layoffs were unavoidable for long-term financial health. He reaffirmed Crytek's commitment to Hunt: Showdown's continued growth, expansion of content, and the development of its CRYENGINE.

The news follows the cancellation of a previously unannounced battle royale-inspired Crysis project, codenamed Crysis Next, which was scrapped in favor of Crysis 4, announced in January 2022. Crysis 4 remains on hold.

The Crysis franchise, known for its visually stunning graphics, nanosuit abilities, and demanding system requirements (famously leading to the "But can it run Crysis?" meme), hasn't seen a mainline release since Crysis 3 in 2013. While remasters of earlier titles have been released, updates on Crysis 4 have been scarce since its initial announcement three years ago.