By Sagar V. Mankar 
Crytek, known for “Far Cry” and “Ryse: Son of Rome,” announced that approximately 60 employees will be laid off as part of a 15% reduction in its workforce. The German game developer, which currently employs around 400 people, cited “unfavorable market dynamics” as the primary reason for the restructuring.
The layoffs will affect both development teams and shared services departments. In conjunction with this announcement, the company confirmed that the development of the next Crysis game [Crysis 4], which had been put on hold in Q3 2024, remains suspended.
Crysis 4, which was initially announced in 2022, had not shown significant public development progress since then. The game would have been the first new entry in the series since Crysis 3’s release in 2013.
“While Hunt: Showdown 1896 is still growing, Crytek cannot continue as before and remain financially sustainable,” the company stated in its official announcement on X. The developer explained that despite previous efforts to reduce costs and cut operating expenses, the layoffs became necessary for the company’s continued operation. Affected employees will receive severance packages and career assistance services.
The company’s current focus remains on Hunt: Showdown 1896, which has shown strong performance in recent months. The game reached a new concurrent player peak of over 60,000 following its 1896 update in August 2024, coinciding with the release of CryEngine 5.11. Crytek assured that they are “fully committed” to Hunt: Showdown 1896 and the continued development of its proprietary CryEngine technology. The company plans to continue expanding and evolving Hunt: Showdown 1896 with new content updates.
This restructuring follows similar workforce reductions across the gaming industry in early 2025, with companies including Rocksteady, Microsoft, Unity, Ubisoft, Reflector Entertainment, Huuuge Games, Moon Active, Iron Galaxy, and HiRez Studios all announcing layoffs.
The company has not provided specific details about the timeline for these workforce reductions or potential impacts on other ongoing projects.