Develop's guide to the six international Crytek studios
Crytek UK
Joined Crytek: 2009
Key staff: Karl Hilton (studio manager) (pictured)
In February 2009 Crytek purchased Free Radical Design, which built its reputation on the superb, tongue-in-cheek TimeSplitters series. The acquisition gave Crytek a team with a long heritage in the UK industry. That’s something set to continue as the studio readies its first Crytek-branded title.
“We are currently concepting up an original IP that we hope will become a defining game series for the UK studio,” reveals Karl Hilton, studio manager. “However, in reality, the opportunity to make any kind of original FPS genre game where we get to focus on the quality of both the multiplayer and single player experience is what drives people at the studio. We have a strong history of creativity here, and we want to take that forward with Crytek and the CryENGINE 3.”
Many of Crytek’s UK staff boast an impressive range of skills taken from the country’s industry, and will be key to developing relationships within the sector both to import and export knowledge and expertise.
“We are particularly keen to get involved with education in the UK and build up good communications and knowledge exchange with universities and colleges,” explains Hilton.
Crytek Germany
Founded: 1999
Key staff: Carl Jones (director of global business development, CryENGINE), Nick Button-Brown (director of business development), Heiko Fischer (director of human resources), Jens Schäfer (PR manager)
As Crytek’s base of operations, the Frankfurt HQ is responsible for much of the company’s output.
Subsequently, the studio plays home to the Yerli brothers and various others from the upper echelons of the organisation.
“Frankfurt offers a big cluster of innovative and creative companies, which makes it a very strong location for the creative industry and thus an excellent place for Crytek,” says CEO and president Cevat Yerli.
“This cluster gives us the possibility for many partnerships, both on the vertical and the horizontal value chain. Frankfurt has various games companies such as developers, publishers, agencies and universities.”
Originally based in Coburg, Crytek relocated in 2006, and since has established itself as one of the city’s most highly regarded employers.
“We’re already working on several projects we’d call ‘dream projects’,” says Yerli. “In general we can’t really commit to a certain genre or platform. Everything has its strengths and weaknesses, and we’re trying our best to bring out the best in all games we’re developing. It’s our mission to always offer greater gaming experiences.”
Crytek Hungary
Founded: 2007
Key staff: Kristoffer Waardahl (studio manager) (pictured)
Developing games lead by the mantra ‘on time, on quality’, Crytek’s Hungarian studio is focused on developing with the CryENGINE tech.
Currently hard at work on ‘thrilling new IP’, the Budapest-based team consists of a very experienced and passionate multinational workforce. While nothing is known about the project publically, when speaking about the studio’s opening Avni Yerli said: “It is a great way to widen our horizons and develop for a new gaming genre while continuing our company's strategic growth and expansion.”
And as for the studio’s home city? “Budapest speaks for itself,” promises studio manager Kristoffer Waardahl. “It’s a charming capital with stunning buildings, a soothing river, good public transport, lively cultural and night life, and a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It is the pearl of the Danube. It’s easy to find a nice place to live, and food and services prices tend to be lower then in the EU in general.”
Crytek Korea
Founded: 2008
Key staff: Young Mok Park (country manager) (pictured)
Focusing its efforts on delivering the CryENGINE to the huge Korean market, Crytek’s Korean operation was formed in 2008, and is rightly confident of the market it courts.
“Korea is one of the biggest markets for 3D graphics engines,” explains Young Mok Park, country manager. “Because of the long history and experience in online games, Korean developers look for leading edge technology in all fields. These developers are hungry to create something that does not exist in the world yet.”
As a country where online gaming is phenomenally popular, Korea also offers Crytek an unrivalled test bed with what many believe is the best internet infrastructure in the world. For that very reason, the Seoul-based studio continues to attract an array of hugely talented staff.
“We have many people from excellent backgrounds in the gaming industry,” says Park. “Most people have worked on online game services and famous blockbuster games with great success. We have experts from various fields such as online service operation, QA, marketing, PR and network technology. This long experience and expertise will be great asset to Crytek, both now and the future.”
Crytek Black Sea
Joined Crytek: 2008
Key staff: Vesselin Handjiev (managing director) (pictured)
Having joined the Crytek fold in 2008, the Black Sea studio has become a cornerstone of the development community in
the region.
“It is not that big an industry here, but still there are a dozen or so developers and companies involved in creating interactive entertainment software in some way,” explains studio manager Vesselin Handjiev. “Crytek Black Sea, located in the capital city of Sofia, is the local leader and creates stability and career opportunities for the area’s young and talented people.
“It can be said the Bulgarian gaming industry is not as old as it is in Western Europe or North America, but it is catching up fast.”
Prior to its acquisition by Crytek, Black Sea Studios worked on renowned PC games Knights of Honor and WorldShift, and can take much of the credit for the progress of co-operative multiplayer modes in the RTS genre.
While the studio’s current projects remain undisclosed, Crytek Black Sea is proudly ambitious. “Anything that really delivers in terms of replay value is a dream to work on,” enthuses Handjiev, when asked about ideal projects. “We are working on a project that will deliver greater gaming experiences.”
Crytek Ukraine
Founded: 2006
Key staff: Max Dembick (studio manager) (pictured)
In 2006 the Crytek Kiev team consisted of just six artists and two managers. Now, three years later, the team now amounts to over 50 people, including experienced programmers and game designers.
“Our team’s contribution to Crysis project demonstrated the ability of the studio to start its own project,” says Maxim Dembick, studio manager, adding: “Not even a new project, but brand new IP. This is where we are now – stay tuned for public announcements.”
Crytek’s Kiev office offers a confident, creative atmosphere to new employees, who can mix with a talented international team in a bright and large office space.
“We do not like silence here,” admits Dembick. “It is always a bit too noisy in the main area, because people communicate verbally a lot . There are more than 50 of us at the moment but we still do our best to keep the family feeling within our office.”
Crytek Kiev is currently very busy with a currently unannounced project, though Dembick is tantalisingly secretive – only letting slip that the team is “working on our dream project at the moment.”
WE WANT TIMESPLITTERS 4!!
SAME
Please make Timesplitters 4! A next gen version would sell huge!
Please make Timesplitters 4! Please
MAKE TIME SPLITTERS 4 PLEASE that would make a kid happy.
They probaly won't make it until crysis 2 is released caus they think it will sell better than timesplitter 4. But they don't realise that timesplitters 4 will sell much better caus its so much more fun to play.
You need to make Timesplitters 4 come on Timesplitters was legendary
NOW ITS A TIME MAKE IT GUYS HURRY
MAKE TIME-SPLITTERS 4!
come on what are you playing at putting it on hold make TS4 already!
Best online game ever, I'd still be playing future perfect if it were on the ps3 so please make a new one
Clearly no-one could care less what you are doing unless it is a Timesplitters related project. Not a hard decision.
Why ? Why ?! Why you don't make TimeSplitters 4 ?! We wants TS4 ! Please...
give it to us!@!!!
Please, I want TS4!
Keep Timesplitters alive!
please we need timesplitters 4
C'mon guys, more than 3/4ths of your fanbase is made of aspiring TimeSplitters fans.
IF YOUR NOT GONNA MAKE THE GAME THEN ATLEAST DO SOMETHING TO MAKE FUTURE PERFECT COMPATIBLE ON THE XBOX 360
Timsplitters:FP Was the best arcade and online game ever! it was fast paced, wit heaps of game modes n cool characters n guns tat could be playd wit 4 freinds splitscreen online. Halo3,Killzone2,CODMW2,GOW2,Resistence2 etc is nuffin compared to Timesplitters! absolutely nothing! Games these days are boring, they are too realistic and dont focus on fun at all, in timesplitters i could play as a gingerbread man, or a duck, and fight 1000 bots with fast shootin, reloading and instant spawning even if it was online, so please make anutha TS game, fans will simply cry wit heartbreak if u dont.
Goldeneye 007 is the very first FPS i had played, and it was the best, until i played timesplitters. Face it, crytek would not exist if it wasnt for those games, and the fans who were raised by those games will cease to exist if you fail to continue the series. Noone cares about Haze, noone cares about anything you produce unless its timesplitter related, so listen to us! all you do is make the games, we are the ones who buy them and play them!!!
Everyone wants timesplitters 4 so just give us the game already! Obviously you would make money off of it, so why not!?
Please make Timesplitters 4, we've been anticipating it for soooooooooo long!
make it make it make it please, i want a timesplitters 4
How could you put a great series like timesplitters on hold???!! I fell in love with this series right away with its crazy characters, mapmaker, intense story, guns, everything is amazing about this game. My friends and i played this game for hours and never go bored. we made crazy maps and created crazy game modes. the game had and amazing set of levels and music and everything. Future perfect is the best First person shooter ever and i would love to continue playing it but it doesnt work anymore my disk is to old. i worked forever to get platinum and all the best times the game has amzing replay value and you guys created something truely amazing and all you need to do is improve slightly the future perfect and there would be a timeless game with amazing qualities no other game has. online timesplitters would be amazing, no one can ruin this series. please make timesplitters 4 please!!!
Timesplitters, the series we (the gaming community) know and love is well overdue for resurrection. a new ts would be huge and nothing less of a dream come true to this, along with i'm sure millions of other gamers
Please make Timesplitters 4.
Please make timesplitters 4! Timesplitters owns every fps out there. I swear I'm gonna quit playing video games altogether if it doesn't come out. I can't stand all these generic modern warfare games that companies keep milking out year after year. People want creativity and fun, and a game that is not afraid to be itself in a world full of monotony. Please, make a sequel to timesplitters!!! The market demands it!
to save time: ditto :P if ur not gonna make it at least update the 360's backwards compatability function for FP
GIVE US TIMESPLITTERS!
Im sick of all the crap shooters, Timesplitters was and still is a legendary FPS.
It's the only reason i still have my old consoles
playing time splitters 2, with my best friend, playing couch connection multiplayer, is what made me a genuine gamer.
Crytek, you may want to release a new "realistic" game but there are too many of these games already, while your deciding on timesplitters 4, could you at least make future perfect playable on the 360 and PS3? if we are going to have to wait at least keep our hopes up. ive played future perfect so much i clocked it over 7 times and im still playing it.
times splitter 4 please,come on guys just give the series another chance,best fps ever
PLEASE: Let us have the possibility to play a game like Timesplitters Future Perfect on HD! PS3+XBOX!
please...think of the monkeys
We want TimeSplitters 4!!! Why can't you people understand it!!!
Free Radicals was everything...
We want Timesplitters 4. Crytek needs to resume production. The industry is ripe for the picking. All FPS games are too serious. We need the fun factor. And the "play, create, share genre" is perfect for the level creator. Add jumping, maybe a create or edit player, and do not use the Haze engine. Crytek... the industry is your oyster, and if you deliver what people what, people will buy it in droves.
Timesplitters Future Perfect was and still is the best multiplayer FPS please make Timespitters 4
Man, TS4 and more would be incredible. I own all the TS games so far. And if they were on different platforms with even slight differences, I would own TS for all the platforms! It's the only PS2 game I still play! In a world that continues to be crowded with serious FPS titles, it was always nice to have the over the time TS series to just have fun with! Bring it all back, the options, the wild characters and babes, wild levels, etc. Awesome game.
We want timesplitters 4!! Theres a petition with loads of signatures on it and everything!
Even just 2 or FP on xbox live arcade would be great!!
Why don't you understand crytek. Clearly your entire fanbase is timesplitters fans, yet you still haven't released it. You said you'd make it if we demanded it. Take a look at these comments.. There isn't a SINGLE ONE that DOESN'T say they want TS4. Fuck you if you don't bring it back, that would probably be the poorest decision a company could make.
I really don't understand why they haven't made the game. I only know one guy who plays crisis... and at that it barely runs on his pc. Timesplitters was the best series ever known. They want the economy to demand it... well it does. Just promote it. They don't understand that every one of my friends would pick future perfect over any game. I ran into a guy at best buy the other day who was talking about how it was the best. Anyone with any sort of taste likes Timesplitters. No one wants another boring halo or MW2. People might obsess over it but it is just because it is a common game everyone has. Timesplitters was in itself unique. It is one of a kind and if people learned this it would become a hitsell. Just because 100's of thousands of people aren't messaging them asking for it means nothing. Its only because a select number of nerds (me included) will actually get on a chat to speak out. This is the first chat that I've ever said anything... that I can remember anyways. I bet there is unarguably hundreds of thousands of people who are just waiting for it somewhere in the back of their mind...The game is legendary... I hope the makers realize this.
WE WANT TIMESPLITTERS 4!!!
Seriously Crytek, Timesplitters 4 would be the best business move you could ever make. We would be happy to buy it, you guys would be happy with all the money you make from it, and most importantly, all the fans would shut up about it! You want the demand for TS4? WELL HERE IT IS!!
I mean seriously??? They all want TS4! Don't believe me? Go to Youtube and search TimeSplitters4.
Just to keep this alive... TS4 please...
i want ts4 or at least some form of timesplitters for PC or PS3 OR 360, would love to experience it on PC tho since it was only a console game before
How can you ignore this large demand for TS4? I don't even have a PS3 but goddammit I'll buy one if you make TS4 already.
rare-->free radical-->crytek uk. I remember when I first figured out that the same people made like 90% of the games that I ever truly appreciated. If it's not TS4 then make it something to do Timesplitters justice, make it fun, make it customizable, make it multiplayer, make it epic, and make 4 progressively better installments.
