Crytek Lays Off 15% of Staff and Indefinitely Shelves Crysis 4

Regarding legendary titles and developers, the Crysis franchise and its developer, Crytek, are practically synonymous. Fans had been eagerly awaiting more details on Crysis 4, expecting news as time went on. Now, some updates have finally emerged - but unfortunately, they’re not what fans were hoping for. Crytek has announced company-wide layoffs, and with that, Crysis 4 has been put on hold.

Crytek Lays Off 15% of Staff and Pauses Development Of Crysis 4

For those unaware, Crytek has been working on Crysis 4 since its initial announcement in 2022. Since then, development has supposedly continued in the background while the studio focused on maintaining its live-service title, Hunt: Showdown 1896. However, with the gaming industry facing widespread setbacks and Hunt: Showdown not generating enough momentum to sustain operations, Crytek has now announced layoffs.

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— Crytek (@Crytek) February 12, 2025

In a recent post on X, the developer revealed that, due to "unfavorable market dynamics," it was forced to lay off approximately 15% of its 400 employees. Crytek explained that after putting Crysis 4’s development on hold in Q3 2024, it attempted to shift more developers to Hunt: Showdown 1896, but even that wasn’t enough to prevent the layoffs. As a result, around 60 employees were let go.

This is yet another unfortunate chapter in the ongoing wave of layoffs that have hit the gaming industry in recent years, and Crytek is no exception. The news puts both players and developers in a difficult position, as many were eagerly anticipating the next installment of Crysis while also hoping Hunt: Showdown 1896 would improve in key areas.

With a smaller team now focusing entirely on Hunt: Showdown 1896, there’s hope that Crytek can refine and enhance the game moving forward. While Crysis 4 is officially on pause, there’s always a possibility that development could resume in the future.

For now, Crytek is betting everything on Hunt: Showdown 1896 - and if there’s any silver lining, it’s that the game may see significant improvements soon, despite the bitter taste left by these layoffs.