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

Crytek has announced a round of layoffs affecting 60 of its 400 staff.

In a tweet, Crytek said that while Hunt: Showdown is growing, the company could not “continue as before and remain financially sustainable.” The developer put Crysis 4 “on hold” late 2024 and had worked to shift staff over to Hunt, reducing costs and operating expenses in the process, but the layoffs became “inevitable,” affecting 15% of its workforce.

The layoffs hit staff across Crytek’s development teams and shared services. The company said it will offer severance.

Last year, it emerged that Crytek had worked on a battle royale-inspired Crysis project codenamed Crysis Next when very early gameplay hit YouTube. The footage revealed third-person shooting in a basic warm-up arena, with Crysis’ trademark abilities and sound effects layered on top.

Crytek never announced Crysis Next, which was canceled in favor of Crysis 4 ahead of its announcement in January 2022.

Crysis is a first-person sci-fi shooter series known for its impressive visuals, cool nanosuit powers, and open-ended gameplay. The first game in the series, released in 2007, was often used as a PC benchmark given the demands it would make of PCs at the time. Crysis was so demanding that it spawned the now infamous catchphrase, “But can it run Crysis?” which was used in the years following the game’s release to deliver a verdict on a PC spec.

The last mainline game in the series, Crysis 3, came out in February 2013. Crytek released remasters of the originals in recent years, but fans hadn’t heard more about Crysis 4 since its announcement and teaser three years ago.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.