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Crytek CEO: company is 'absolutely' safe, bankruptcy 'never the case'
If Crytek's "transitional phase" remains sustainable, it will become a go-to example among industry insiders of how not to handle such a difficult time. Speaking with Eurogamer, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli opens up about how the company has shifted its strategy from retail to software as a service, which was clearly not handled internally with the transparency required to control chatter. "[Going] out of business or bankruptcy, in my mind, was never the case. We have tried to communicate this as much as we can to everybody. But I understand some employees of Crytek have been in other companies under similar situations and they have gone out of business," Yerli told Eurogamer. "We have a lot of substance in Crytek."
Joystiq Weekly: EA Access, Divinity: Original Sin review, The Last Of Us revisited and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. EA announced EA Access this week, a monthly or yearly service that gives subscribers a digital library of games from the publisher's catalog. PlayStation Plus and Games With Gold are comfortable ideas at this point, but for such a substantial publisher to start their own service on a console without making any hardware themselves? That's pretty interesting. Hopefully we won't see a flood or other publishers launching competitors for PlayStation and Xbox's services, though. Paying one monthly fee for Netflix and maybe two monthly fees for video games is manageable, but if the console space starts feeling crowded with subscription services, we can imagine the sense of value will be continually reduced with each additional arrival. Then again, we could probably stomach one more if Nintendo cooked up something for the Virtual Console... There's way more to this week than pondering our breaking point for monthly subscription fees though. Capcom, Sony and Nintendo had earnings reports, Homefront: The Revolution got adopted by Deep Silver's parent company, and PlayStation Now entered its open beta. It's all waiting for you after the break!
Homefront acquired by Deep Silver, production of sequel to continue at fresh studio
Clearly tired of Crytek's "transitional phase," publisher Deep Silver's parent company has acquired the Homefront intellectual property and related assets from Crytek. Homefront: The Revolution was under production at Crytek UK, with recent reports declaring production had halted and the game's director resigned. "We strongly believe in the potential of Homefront: The Revolution and trust in the new team to continue the path they have been walking in the last years," said Deep Silver CEO Dr. Klemens Kundratitz. The game will now be completed by the newly founded Nottingham-based Deep Silver Dambuster Studio. We've followed up with Deep Silver about whether staff from Crytek UK is transitioning over and will update with any further details.
Report: Homefront: The Revolution's game director resigns
Homefront: The Revolution's future looks increasingly uncertain, judging by Kotaku's report that Hasit Zala has resigned from his role as Revolution's game director at Crytek UK. Kotaku's sources added that development manager Ben Harris left the studio this month, which is reflected by his LinkedIn profile listing the role as a past work experience. The report states that other unnamed employees have either left or are openly looking for work with other companies at this time. Zala's supposed departure follows a previous report that more than 30 employees have left Crytek UK since Revolution's development began in 2011, with departures supposedly being due to late payments. German magazine GameStar reported in June that Crytek was nearing bankruptcy, which was met with a denial from Crytek: "The information in those reports and in the GameStar article itself are rumors which Crytek deny." [Image: Crytek UK]
Report: Crytek UK in trouble, staff leaving
More than 30 employees have left Crytek UK since work began on Homefront: The Revolution in 2011, Eurogamer reports. The high turnover is due to staff being paid late numerous times, and the list of those who've left includes key art, design and programming employees, the site says. Crytek UK Managing Director Karl Hilton is leaving his position for a different role in the company, he told Kotaku. This week, German magazine GameStar reported that Crytek was nearing bankruptcy. Crytek denied the claim: "Regardless of what some media are reporting, mostly based on a recent article published by GameStar, the information in those reports and in the GameStar article itself are rumors which Crytek deny. We continue to focus on the development and publishing of our upcoming titles Homefront: The Revolution, Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age, Arena of Fate, and Warface, as well as providing ongoing support for our CryEngine and its licensees." Homefront: The Revolution publisher Deep Silver has declined to comment on the situation. However, claims of trouble aren't contained to Crytek UK, Kotaku reports: Crytek's sequel to Xbox One launch game Ryse has been canceled, along with a slew of other games, including original prototypes. [Image: Deep Silver]
Joystiq Weekly: GOG's Galaxy, Murdered: Soul Suspect review, Homefront's combat and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. E3 doesn't technically start until June 10, but with all of this week's announcements and E3 trailers, you wouldn't really know it. Forza Horizon 2 will let you drive recklessly later this year, Homefront is due for a return in Homefront: The Revolution, and the thinly-veiled Mortal Kombat X tease is finally over. And that's just the early stuff - we're about to get trampled with news and hands-on demonstrations as the convention itself kicks off next week. Don't worry though, we'll survive by channeling Simba's light-footed evasive maneuvers. Just ... y'know, without the tragic loss immediately preceding our exercise. You don't have to stick around and watch us warm up though - this week's highlights are waiting for you after the break. There are release dates for The Witcher 3 and Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved, reviews for 1,001 Spikes and Tomodachi Life, and an exploration of combat in Homefront: The Revolution. It's all awaiting you neat and orderly-like after the jump!
Crytek's Homefront: The Revolution fights for freedom on PC, Xbox One, PS4 in 2015
Rumors of a resistance are true. Crytek's sequel to the 2011 shooter Homefront from developer Kaos Studios has been officially announced. Co-published by Crytek and Deep Silver, Homefront: The Revolution is coming to PC, Xbox One and PS4 sometime in 2015. Taking place four years into the occupation of the US by Korean forces – as portrayed in the original game – Homefront: The Revolution follows a new set of characters as they battle for freedom throughout the war-torn streets of Philadelphia. By recruiting resistance fighters and using guerrilla tactics in an open-world environment, players can terrorize KPA troops and attempt to gain the upper hand either alone or along with friends in online co-op. Crytek had originally been developing the sequel for THQ, prior to the publisher dissolving. When the publisher's properties were sold, Crytek purchased the franchise to preserve the work its team had put into the title. The Homefront sequel is in development at Crytek UK, formerly Free Radical.
Homefront: The Revolution appears on Swedish site [update: confirmed]
Homefront: The Revolution is the Crytek-developed, Deep Silver-published follow-up to THQ's 2011 game, according to a now removed listing. Official PlayStation Magazine reports Swedish site FZ listed the game as a first-person shooter due in 2015. Crytek acquired the Homefront property in 2011 following THQ going defunct. At the time, General Manager of Games Nick Button-Brown noted the company's purchase would allow Crytek UK (formerly Team Radical) to finish its work on Homefront 2. "The worst case scenario for us was that this situation meant that all that work just ended up being thrown into the bin," Button-Brown said back in 2013, "so we wanted to buy the IP to make sure the team can finish off the game they wish to make." Update: Deep Silver confirmed Homefront: The Revolution is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in 2015. Check out the details and announcement trailer here. [Image: Official PlayStation Magazine]
