Crytek USA

Last updated

Crytek USA Corp.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Video games
FoundedJanuary 28, 2013 (2013-01-28)
DefunctJuly 30, 2014 (2014-07-30)
FateShut down
Successor Gunfire Games
Headquarters Austin, Texas, U.S.
Key people
 David Adams (CEO)
Parent Crytek

Crytek USA Corp. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas, and a subsidiary of Crytek. The studio was led by David Adams, who was formerly the CEO of Vigil Games; a studio that had been acquired by THQ, but was shut down as part of THQ's Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 23, 2013. Adams was personally courted by Crytek's founder Cevat Yerli due to Vigil's work on the Darksiders series, and the trust and leadership of his studio's former staff—many of whom had also joined him at the studio.

Contents

On July 30, 2014, following financial difficulties that prevented employees from being paid on time, and the resulting departure of the studio's leadership and most of its employees, Crytek announced that the studio's sole game in development, Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age , would be taken over by Crytek, and that Crytek USA would survive solely as a provider of support for third-party CryEngine licensees. In August 2014, Adams formed Gunfire Games after his departure from Crytek USA.

History

Formation

Although the company was putting a higher priority on acquiring the Homefront franchise during the auction of properties from the bankrupt video game publisher THQ (as its sequel was being developed by Crytek UK), Crytek's founder Cevat Yerli had expressed an interest in bidding for the Austin-based Vigil Games due to its work on the Darksiders series, and because Crytek was already planning to establish a U.S. subsidiary in Austin, However, he did not bid because he felt that the company's current projects did not fit with Crytek's current strategy. After a phone conversation with Adams following Vigil's failure to receive any bids at auction, Yerli considered Adams to be "passionate" and "caring" towards his studio's projects and staff. After learning that Vigil had been closed by THQ, Yerli quickly scheduled a flight to Austin to visit Adams and the rest of Vigil's former staff to see if they would be interested in joining Crytek USA. [1]

Yerli trusted the creative skills of Vigil's employees based on their games alone, and quickly developed a relationship with Adams and his former colleagues; Yerli hired many of Vigil's former employees based solely on their leadership and trust around Adams. Crytek USA planned to start from "scratch" and not work on any previous IP (such as Darksiders and another project codenamed "Crawler"); however, Adams personally confirmed that Crytek would bid on the Darksiders franchise during THQ's second auction in April 2013. Adams expressed interest in the opportunity to bring the franchise "home" to its original creators. [1] [2] [3] The series was instead sold to Nordic Games. [4]

Shutdown

In June 2014, Crytek USA announced their first game, Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age . [5] However, on July 30, 2014, Crytek announced that as part of a restructuring, development of Hunt would be shifted to Crytek, Crytek USA's remaining employees would be laid off and that limited operations would be maintained at Crytek USA to solely provide U.S.-based support for CryEngine licensees. Kotaku reported that much of the studio's staff, including David Adams, had already left the company due to difficulties receiving wage payments on time. Similar issues had been experienced by Crytek UK, which was shut down the same day with the sale of the Homefront franchise to Koch Media. [6] [7] [8] [9] Adams would go on to form a new studio known as Gunfire Games, which, again, consists primarily of former Vigil staff. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">THQ</span> American video game company

THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initially working in the toy business, it expanded into the video game business through several acquisitions before shifting its focus away from toys entirely. THQ continued its trend of acquiring companies throughout the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crytek</span> German video game and software company

Crytek GmbH is a German video game developer and software developer based in Frankfurt. Founded by the Yerli brothers in Coburg in 1999 and moved to Frankfurt in 2006, Crytek operates additional studios in Kyiv, Ukraine and Istanbul, Turkey. Its former studios included Crytek Black Sea in Sofia, Bulgaria, Crytek UK in Nottingham, and Crytek USA in Austin, Texas. Crytek is best known for developing the first instalment of the Far Cry series, the Crysis series, and the open world nature of their games which showcase the company's CryEngine. As of August 2024, Crytek is the largest game developer in Germany with 405 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graeme Norgate</span> British video game music composer

Graeme Norgate is a British video game music composer who has composed music for a variety of video games developed by Rare. His first project at Rare was writing music for the Game Boy game, Donkey Kong Land. He also contributed to the soundtracks of Blast Corps and GoldenEye 007. Norgate was later an employee of Free Radical Design, the company was eventually bought out by Crytek and renamed to Crytek UK; Norgate retained the position of audio director after the company's buyout. Norgate later moved to Dambuster Studios after Crytek closed down Crytek UK.

<i>TimeSplitters</i> Video game series

TimeSplitters is a series of first-person shooter video games developed by Free Radical Design. The games are often considered spiritual successors to the Nintendo 64 titles GoldenEye 007 (1997) and Perfect Dark (2000), due to overlapping elements in gameplay, design, and development team. Each game features a time travelling element in which players battle across a diverse number of locations and periods in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Radical Design</span> British video game developer

Free Radical Design Ltd. was a British video game developer based in Nottingham. Founded by David Doak, Steve Ellis, Karl Hilton and Graeme Norgate in Stoke-on-Trent in April 1999, it is best known for its TimeSplitters series of games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep Silver</span> Austrian video game publisher

Deep Silver is an Austrian video game publisher and a division of Plaion.

Kaos Studios was an American video game developer based in New York City, New York. Founded in 2006, the company was most known for developing Frontlines: Fuel of War (2008) and Homefront (2011). It was a subsidiary of publisher THQ until it was shut down in June 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vigil Games</span> American game development company

Vigil Games was an American game development company owned by THQ. It was formed by comic artist Joe Madureira and David Adams in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Adams (video game designer)</span> American video game designer

David Adams is an American video game designer best known for his work on Darksiders and Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium. In 2014, Adams founded Gunfire Games

<i>Darksiders II</i> 2012 video game

Darksiders II is an action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ. It is the sequel to Darksiders and was released in August 2012 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and as a launch title for Wii U upon the console's North American and PAL regions release in November of the same year. The story follows the efforts of player character Death to clear the name of his brother, War, who stands accused of wiping out humanity. On a total budget of $50 million, it was one of the most expensive video games to develop of all time.

<i>Ryse: Son of Rome</i> 2013 video game

Ryse: Son of Rome is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Crytek and published by Microsoft Studios. Set in an alternate version of Ancient Rome, Ryse follows the life of the Roman centurion Marius Titus as he becomes one of the leaders in the Roman Legion. Gameplay revolves around Marius using his sword to strike enemies and shield to deflect attacks. Execution sequences are featured in the game, which are quick-time events that serve as an extension to combat. The game features a cooperative multiplayer mode, which tasks players to fight against waves of enemies in maps that are changing dynamically.

<i>Homefront: The Revolution</i> 2016 video game

Homefront: The Revolution is a first-person shooter video game developed by Dambuster Studios. The game was published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in May 2016. It is the reboot/sequel to Homefront. Homefront: The Revolution takes place in 2029 in an alternate timeline, following the protagonist Ethan Brady as he joins a resistance movement against the army of a North Korean occupation in the city of Philadelphia.

THQ Nordic GmbH is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were renamed THQ Nordic in August 2016 after the parent company had acquired the "THQ" trademark in 2014.

<i>Hunt: Showdown</i> 2019 video game

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is a first-person shooter video game by Crytek. It was launched on Steam in early access on 22 February 2018 and for Xbox Game Preview on 29 May 2019. The full release of the game launched on 27 August 2019 for Microsoft Windows, it was also released on Xbox One on 19 September 2019 and PlayStation 4 on 18 February 2020. In the game, the player assumes the role of a bounty hunter who tries to kill mythical monsters in order to claim their bounties and survive long enough against other bounty hunters to reach an extraction point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dambuster Studios</span> British video game developer

Deep Silver Dambuster Studios Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Nottingham, England and owned by Deep Silver, itself part of the Embracer Group-owned Plaion. The studio was founded on 30 July 2014, and was set up initially to take over the development of Homefront: The Revolution from Crytek UK; which was closed later that same day, transferring all of its employees to Dambuster.

<i>Darksiders III</i> 2018 video game

Darksiders III is an action role-playing game developed by Gunfire Games and published by THQ Nordic. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in November 2018. A Stadia version and Nintendo Switch port released in September 2021. It is the third entry in the Darksiders series.

Darksiders is a hack and slash action-adventure video game franchise created by Vigil Games, now developed by Gunfire Games, which consists of some of the original members of Vigil. The series is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, where mankind faces near-extinction and angels fight a losing battle against the demon hordes for control over the world. Among them are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the last of the Nephilim who are tasked to bring balance to the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunfire Games</span> American video game developer

Gunfire Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The studio was founded by David Adams in July 2014, bringing with him the core team of Crytek USA just before that studio's closure. The company was acquired by THQ Nordic in August 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airship Syndicate</span> American video game development company

Airship Syndicate Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game development company based in Austin, Texas. Founded by several ex-Vigil Games staff including Joe Madureira and Ryan Stefanelli, in 2014, Airship Syndicate is most known for developing Battle Chasers: Nightwar (2017), Darksiders Genesis (2019) and Ruined King: A League of Legends Story (2021).

References

  1. 1 2 "How Crytek hired the ex-Vigil team (and formed a new studio) based on one meeting". VentureBeat. February 4, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Crytek USA wants the Darksiders series to come home". Digital Trends. April 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Crytek USA hope to wrestle back Darksiders series in auction". PCGamesN. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ "The future of Darksiders, Red Faction and THQ's other IP at Nordic Games". Polygon. April 23, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  5. ↑ "E3 2014: Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age Includes Horrors, Hunting". GameSpot. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Sources: Crytek USA's Leadership Quit Last Week". Kotaku. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Deep Silver buys Homefront from Crytek, moves Homefront: The Revolution to new studio". Polygon. July 30, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Crytek Lays Off Staff After Selling Homefront; Crytek UK May Be Shut Down". GameSpot. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Crytek No Longer Developing Homefront, Sells Rights to Publisher Deep Silver". GameSpot. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Former Darksiders developer Gunfire Games talks about triple-A indies, hints at next game". Polygon. February 9, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.