Crysis 4 development paused as Crytek announces layoffs, joining a growing list of studios affected by workforce reductions.

Crysis developer Crytek is the next studio hit by layoffs, as it announces it’s set to lose an estimated 15 percent of its 400 employees.

That’s around 60 people, with both development teams and shared services affected.

The studio put development of its next Crysis game on hold last year to focus on Hunt: Showdown 1896, but has described the layoffs as “inevitable to move forward”.

Crytek shared a statement on social media as follows:

“Like so many of our peers, we aren’t immune to the complex, unfavourable market dynamics that have hit our industry these past several years,” it reads.

“It pains us greatly to share today that we must lay off an estimated 15 percent of our around 400 employees. The layoffs affect development teams and shared services. This has not been an easy decision to make, as we deeply appreciate the hard work of our talented teams. After putting the development of the next Crysis game on hold in Q3 2024, we have been trying to shift developers over to Hunt: Showdown 1896.

“While Hunt: Showdown 1896 is still growing, Crytek cannot continue as before and remain financially sustainable. Even after ongoing efforts to reduce costs and cut operating expenses, we have determined that layoffs are inevitable to move forward. Crytek will offer affected employees severance packages and career assistance services.”

The statement ends with the studio affirming its commitment to Hunt: Showdown 1896.

Hunt: Showdown received its 1896 update in August last year, which saw the extraction shooter hit a new concurrent player peak of over 60,000. The game also received a boost from the new CryEngine 5.11.

Crysis 4 was announced back in 2022, but nothing has been seen since. It would be the first new game in the series since 2013’s Crysis 3.