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

Crytek, facing challenging market conditions, announced 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 development in late 2024 and efforts to consolidate resources around the growing Hunt: Showdown.

Despite Hunt: Showdown's success, Crytek stated that maintaining its current operational structure was financially unsustainable. Cost-cutting measures proved insufficient, leading to the unavoidable layoffs. Affected employees will receive severance packages and career support.

Yerli's statement emphasized Crytek's commitment to Hunt: Showdown's continued growth and evolution, along with the ongoing development of its CRYENGINE.

The news follows the earlier, unannounced cancellation of a battle royale-inspired Crysis project, codenamed Crysis Next, which was scrapped in favor of Crysis 4, unveiled in January 2022. The Crysis franchise, renowned for its visually stunning graphics and demanding system requirements (famously summarized by the phrase "But can it run Crysis?"), last saw a mainline release with Crysis 3 in 2013. While remasters of earlier titles have been released, significant updates on Crysis 4 have been scarce since its initial announcement. The layoffs impact both development and support teams across Crytek's operations.