I just saw some gaming news that I suspect connects up with a different bit of gaming news we learned of a while ago.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/crytek-signs-huge-licensing-deal-with-mystery-firm/0204382
"Crytek has signed a major licensing deal with a mystery firm as part of its strategy to put the company on a more stable footing following its troubles last year."
Crytek had had some financial troubles, which were resolved in 2014, through "securing of extra capital". This "extra capital" is directly connected to this news of a "huge licensing deal".
That's the newer piece of news. But when I read it, I couldn't help but recall another "mystery" from 2014, this time connected to Nintendo.
http://www.gonintendo.com/s/227800-nintendo-spends-100-million-on-mystery-acquisition
"@Nintendo spends over US$100m on mystery tech acquisition in 4Q, no word on what it is, QOL? new hardware related? unknown"
This news came out just a couple of months before Crytek confirmed that they had secured extra capital.
What if these two bits of information are connected? Crytek would certainly qualify as a "tech acquisition". Some further reasons for thinking there might be something to this...
1. Wii U is the first Nintendo platform with proper CryEngine support. Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric is a Wii U exclusive game made in CryEngine. Given that development had to have started noticeably after Wii U launch, it seems surprising that Wii U support would be incorporated for, at the time, just one, exclusive, game (and one that was developed in a Nintendo/Sega deal, so it's unlikely that it would have been considered for multiplatform release). But if Nintendo were in talks for some level of acquisition or special licensing deal? Much more plausible, then.
2. CryEngine is relatively unused compared to other notable engines such as Unreal or Unity. With Crytek going through financial issues, a major publisher forming a deal to use CryEngine in a lot of future games would be a huge boon for them. If that "major publisher" were a console creator with other publishers and developers also making games for their system, and were interested in attracting more support, it would open up Crytek to more opportunities.
Nintendo's deal regarding Unity is basically one of "Unity games will be easily built for Wii U". But if Nintendo entered a deal with Crytek, they could ensure not only Crytek titles being released on Nintendo systems, but also potentially bring over other CryEngine games.
Some interesting observations about other recent announcements...
Homefront: The Revolution, which was Crytek before it (and its studio) being bought by Deep Silver, is being developed on CryEngine. It's currently in development for Windows, Mac, PS4, XBO, and Linux... and has recently been delayed from 2015 to 2016. Suppose that wasn't so much due to development issues themselves, but due to addition of Wii U to the list of platforms?
Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age, in development by Crytek for Windows, PS4, and XBO, was set to have a beta at the end of 2014, before a last-minute announcement of a delay with no new date as of yet. Perhaps it, also, is being brought to Wii U?
Crytek pretty much fits everything we know about Nintendo's "mystery tech acquisition". Nintendo also fits, quite nicely, Crytek's "major licensing deal with a mystery firm". What do you think? Could they be referring to the same deal?
