Crytek USA Corp. was an American
video game developer
A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...
based in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
, and a subsidiary of
Crytek
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 also operates further studios in Kyiv, Ukraine and Istanbul, Turkey. ...
. The studio was led by
David Adams David Adams Musical Theatre Performer
Starlight Express, Avenue Q, Les Miserables,
Government officials
* David S. Adams (State Department) (born 1961), Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
* David Adams (Labour politician) ( ...
, who was formerly the CEO of
Vigil Games
Vigil Games was an American game development company owned by THQ. It was formed by comic artist Joe Madureira and David Adams (video game designer), David Adams in 2005.
History
Vigil Games was founded in 2005 by Joe Madureira, David Adams, Mar ...
; a studio that had been acquired by
THQ
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. Initial ...
, but was shut down as part of THQ's
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
on January 23, 2013. Adams was personally courted by Crytek's founder
Cevat Yerli
Cevat Yerli (born 1978 in Coburg, Germany to Turkish immigrants from Giresun) is a computer game developer. He co-founded Crytek, one of the largest video game developers in Germany, and served as its CEO and President until February 2018.
Cry ...
due to Vigil's work on the ''
Darksiders
''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 mank ...
'' series, and the trust and leadership of his studio's former staff—many of whom had also joined him at the studio.
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
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 also operates further studios in Kyiv, Ukraine and Istanbul, Turkey. ...
, and that Crytek USA would survive solely as a provider of support for third-party
CryEngine
CryEngine (stylized as CRYENGINE) is a game engine designed by the German game developer Crytek. It has been used in all of their titles with the initial version being used in ''Far Cry'', and continues to be updated to support new consoles and ...
licensees. Adams formed
Gunfire Games
Gunfire Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The studio was founded by David Adams (video game designer), David Adams in July 2014, bringing with him the core team of Crytek USA just before that studio's closure. ...
after he left 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
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. Initial ...
(as its
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
was being developed by
Crytek UK
Free Radical Design Ltd. is 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, they are best known for their ''TimeSplitters'' series of games. ...
), Crytek's founder
Cevat Yerli
Cevat Yerli (born 1978 in Coburg, Germany to Turkish immigrants from Giresun) is a computer game developer. He co-founded Crytek, one of the largest video game developers in Germany, and served as its CEO and President until February 2018.
Cry ...
had expressed an interest in bidding for the Austin-based
Vigil Games
Vigil Games was an American game development company owned by THQ. It was formed by comic artist Joe Madureira and David Adams (video game designer), David Adams in 2005.
History
Vigil Games was founded in 2005 by Joe Madureira, David Adams, Mar ...
due to its work on the ''
Darksiders
''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 mank ...
'' 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.
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.
The series was instead sold to
Nordic Games
The Nordic Games were the first international multi-sport event that focused primarily on winter sports, and were held at varying intervals between 1901 and 1926. It was organized by Sweden's Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of ...
.
Shutdown
In June 2014, Crytek USA announced their first game, ''
Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age''.
However, on July 30, 2014, Crytek announced that as part of a restructuring, development of ''Hunt'' would be shifted to
Crytek
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 also operates further studios in Kyiv, Ukraine and Istanbul, Turkey. ...
, 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
''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier.
History
...
'' 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
Free Radical Design Ltd. is 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, they are best known for their ''TimeSplitters'' series of games. ...
, which was shut down the same day with the sale of the ''Homefront'' franchise to
Koch Media
Plaion (formerly Koch Media) is a German-Austrian media company headquartered in Höfen, Tyrol, Austria, with an operating subsidiary based in Planegg, Germany. The company was founded in 1994 by Franz Koch and Klemens Kundratitz. The company ...
.
Adams would go on to form a new studio known as
Gunfire Games
Gunfire Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The studio was founded by David Adams (video game designer), David Adams in July 2014, bringing with him the core team of Crytek USA just before that studio's closure. ...
, which, again, consists primarily of former Vigil staff.
References
External links
Official siteat Crytek.com
{{Crytek
Crytek
2013 establishments in Texas
2014 disestablishments in Texas
American companies established in 2013
American companies disestablished in 2014
Companies based in Austin, Texas
Video game companies established in 2013
Video game companies disestablished in 2014
Defunct companies based in Texas
Defunct video game companies of the United States
Video game companies based in Texas
Video game development companies
American subsidiaries of foreign companies