The thing that annoys me is that Crysis's engine has all the tech it needed to make Crysis into an amazing game. But they made a dumb shooter instead. I remember putting in some cheat code that unlocks a flying gunship thing, and I could fly around blowing shit up. It was more fun than the game itself, and none of the missions let you fly that same gunship... makes no sense.
Crytek Sofia developers re-form Black Sea Games
Sofia studio is independent once again
A new studio has already risen from the ashes of one of Crytek's recently closed studios.
Crytek announced last week that it would be closing a number of its studios, including offices in Budapest, Sofia, Seoul, Shanghai. It followed cash-flow issues that meant the management were unable to pay staff for two months.
The Sofia studio was originally called Black Sea Studios before Crytek purchased it in 2008, and was rebranded Crytek Black Sea. The team's output includes Knights of Honor, WorldShift and Arena of Fate.
Now Black Sea Games has returned as an independent outfit. It is led by Vesselin Handjiev, who founded the original Black Sea in 2001 and was the MD of the studio under Crytek until September this year. The new company was formed in November, which suggests that taking the office independent had been on the cards for a while, and predates the recent issues Crytek had in terms of paying employees.
Michael Peykov is the firm's technical director, and he also hailed from Black Sea Games.
The firm said in a statement: "Our mission is to create hard-core games that will entertain players over and over again. We believe the best gaming experiences are coming from challenging the players with meaningful choices, while giving them the freedom to create (and share) their own in-game stories."
Black Sea Games has already begun work on an unannounced game.
To be honest they can revive the Crysis series again now that we're in the AAA open world generation.
These open world games aren't selling on talentExcept they lack the talent to make a good Crysis, or any good game at this point.
Russian publishing giant picks up Crytek's FPS Warface
Transition begins next month.
A Russian-owned publishing giant has picked up Crytek's free-to-download first-person shooter Warface.
My.com, which is owned by Russian internet company Mail.Ru, said it had picked up publishing rights to Warface in North America and Europe, starting from February 2017.
In December 2012, Crytek announced it had let go of multiple studios following financial trouble that saw staff paid late.
At the time, we heard Crytek's sudden ability to pay its staff was the result of an influx of cash from Mail.Ru, which a source said had bought Warface and the unannounced, in development Warface 2. We also heard there may be layoffs as a result of the publishing switch, although these remain unconfirmed for now.
Mail.Ru had already worked with Crytek to operate Warface in CIS countries for four years. Crytek said Warface had a total of 40 million registered players.
My.com, which runs online games such as Revelation Online, Armored Warfare and Skyforge, will take over publishing and operations of Warface in the west while Crytek will focus on the development and support of the game, continuing updates to Warface worldwide.
In a note to press, Crytek said Warface events and "cross regional cyber sport activities" have already been planned for Europe and North America.
Players can expect a smooth transition. Characters will be saved, as well as all items, rewards, achievements and in-game currency.
In the joint press release, Faruk Yerli, founder and managing director of Crytek is quoted. Once again Cevat Yerli, who has been blamed for many of Crytek's troubles, is nowhere to be seen.
Knights of Honor studio revived from the ashes: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-12-24-crytek-sofia-developers-re-form-black-sea-games
Whatever the new game is, it should be better than the MOBA they were making for Crytek.
Sega expands Creative Assembly with Crytek Black Sea acquisition
In an effort to bolster Total War developer Creative Assembly, Sega Europe today has announced that it's acquired Crytek Black Sea and added the 60-person team from Bulgaria to the prominent UK developer. Crytek Black Sea has been renamed Creative Assembly Sofia and will be working on a number of unannounced projects.
Tim Heaton, Studio Director at Creative Assembly, commented: "Now in our 30th year of games development, with an army of multi-million selling titles to our name and a history of world-renowned partnerships, Creative Assembly is proof of the UK games industry's potential for global success. Due to this success, we are further expanding our UK base and developing additional projects overseas, whilst pursuing top talent from across the globe to join us, all in support of our commitment to creating high quality, authentic gaming experiences. Our continued growth allows us to be dynamic with our future projects, constantly seeking new opportunities and reaching a wider audience with our games."
Jurgen Post, President and COO of Sega Europe, added: "The acquisition of Crytek Black Sea further enhances Sega Europe's development capabilities and strengthens our ability to output diverse and engaging content for our IP. Creative Assembly Sofia will be working exclusively on content for Creative Assembly and will prove an invaluable asset given the multitude of unannounced titles currently in the works. This acquisition represents another step in the right direction for the growth of our global business, underlining our commitment to add value to our existing studios and our continued support for the UK games industry."
Crytek helping launch Crycash cryptocurrency
Developer says paying players who reach certain milestones in its games will be a cost-effective user acquisition strategy
Crytek is partnering with Crycash to launch the start-up firm's eponymous cryptocurrency, as reported by VentureBeat. The developer of Warface is hoping to use Crycash as a user acquisition tool, paying players who reach certain milestones in its games, who can then spend the currency on in-game transactions.
"You go to a performance marketing agency and pay $5 or $10 per user, and you never know the quality of those users," Crytek co-founder and managing director Faruk Yerli said. "With Crycash, you can set goals for the players to achieve certain milestones in your game before they get the tokens. They fulfill the objective, and their receive their rewards in Crycash."
Yerli is one of two people listed as an advisor on the Crycash website, along with Warface creative director Michael Khaimzon. (The size of Crytek's investment in Crycash, if any, is unclear, and a Crytek representative was unable to clarify as of this writing.) Crycash is expected to be integrated into Warface Turkey early next year, and Crycash is hoping to integrate the currency with games from other publishers as well.
The companies want to create an ecosystem around Crycash, starting with a mobile app called Plink. The app will allow users to earn Crycash by viewing ads, and they'll be able to see what developers are currently offering for the completion of specific tasks in their games. It will also include social functionality, allowing friends to message one another and see which game each other is playing. Crycash is also looking to build an esports betting platform based on Etherium with some Crycash-specific functionality, like earning Crycash for competing in tournaments.
The initial coin offering for Crycash will go live on December 12, with a price of .001 Etherium per 1 Crycash, and run through January 15. (A survey of multiple exchanges found 1 Etherium trading for between $395 and $439 as of this writing.) Crycash is offering an additional 15% Crycash for those who jump on in the first five days of the sale, and an additional 20% throughout the ICO for any transaction over 200 Etherium.
Crycash will make its money by charging fees for every transaction. By integrating the cryptocurrency into the CryEngine Marketplace, Crytek will be on the hook for a 1.5% fee for all payments made using Crycash. Developers that pay out rewards for gamers accomplishing tasks will owe a 20% fee, and dev-sponsored tournaments on the esport platform will pay a fee of 4% of the size of the prize pool.
Crycash has said that it will try to ensure the currency is stable and in continuous market demand by using 30% of the money raised during its initial offering and "up to 80%" of its profits to buy back Crycash on the secondary market.
It remains to be seen how beneficial Crytek's involvement in the cryptocurrency will be. The company's reputation suffered last year following reports that it neglected to pay employees over a prolonged stretch for the second time in three years. That was followed by the closure of multiple Crytek studios as the company said it was putting its focus on premium IPs and its CryEngine business. It again cited a desire to "focus on core competencies" when it laid off another 15 people from its Frankfurt headquarters earlier this year.
Jesus Christ.The app will allow users to earn Crycash by viewing ads