There's still trouble at Crytek, the independent game developer behind games like Crysis and Ryse. And as of yesterday, the bulk of employees at Crytek's UK office are no longer going to work, according to people familiar with the situation.1
This comes in the wake of numerous reports that Crytek, which has studios across the world, has had trouble paying staff on time. Though Crytek has publicly denied facing financial difficulties, I've heard from close to 20 current and former employees stating that, as we reported last week, paychecks have been late and a Ryse sequel was cancelled following a dispute with Microsoft over who would own the rights to the franchise.
New developments point to more trouble ahead. Over the past two days, I've spoken with four people connected to Crytek's UK studio, which is currently developing Homefront: The Revolution. According to those people, Crytek's UK staff have still not been paid the full amounts they are owed, and this week, according to two sources, the staff at Crytek's UK office handed in formal grievance letters and went home.
One person familiar with the studio estimates that around 100 people have left, though it's unclear how many people plan to leave permanently and how many would like to stay with Crytek UK, which has been consistently losing staff for the past few months.
Rumor around the studio is that Crytek and Homefront publisher Deep Silver are currently negotiating over what will happen next. Employees at Crytek UK, which is based in Nottingham, are hoping that Deep Silver will purchase the studio and continue funding development of Homefront: The Revolution, according to two people connected to the company.
"They have invested a lot in Homefront and will want to protect their investment," said one source.
For now, however, Crytek UK is in stasis as employees wait to see what will happen next.
Representatives for Crytek and Deep Silver did not respond to requests for comment.
http://kotaku.com/sources-crytek-uks-staff-are-currently-on-leave-1599923133
