680°

Crytek Employees Go Six Months Without Pay

Crytek is a German-based video game company that was established in 1999, since then it has ballooned to six studios across the globe and multiple hit games, including the Far Cry and Crisis series, and that doesn’t even mention their work on the beautiful CryEngine’s over the years.

Read Full Story >>
crowdpondent.com
UCForce2729d ago

WTF, Crytek ? Are you serious ?

BizarroUltraman2729d ago

Maybe we can get whoever disagreed to work for Crytek. Since they seem to like to work for free. Haha

nveenio2728d ago

They didn't make their engine competitive against UDK. The studios that could manage to use CryEngine were often better ahead to just use something like Unity if not build their own.

indysurfn2728d ago (Edited 2728d ago )

People keep forgetting. One of the things they forgot was Crytek is one of those a holes that have executives that blame problems on lazy programmers. This is really Satanic. People actually disagree with UCForce saying wtf crytek Are you serious? I like Ryse, and xbox too but dang!

This proves there are people that love it when big companies lord it over them. This is NOT the first time see them doing it also in 2014 :

https://www.rockpapershotgu...

Did you see the attitude in that article, they are blaming the employee for being 'impatient' because they would like getting paid, I don't know, in six months. Once again, I'm glade I'm a business programmer. Game programmers don't make enough. And they get blamed for what is really a executive decision to ship a game not polished or finished.

Mystogan2729d ago

I knew CryEngine wasn't doing good, but this bad? damn...

And they still wouldnt sell Ryse to Microsoft. They seem to be extremely poor(pun intended) businessmen.

ABizzel12729d ago (Edited 2729d ago )

It's not that easy to give up something that you've spent years working on, and no longer have any say or creative freedom with that project ever again.

Artistically speaking I can completely understand, but financially speaking CryTek you need to take care of your employees first and foremost. Ryse was a good premise that suffered launch games woes, but it was easily franchise capable with sequel if it had more variety.

MyDietEqualsGames2729d ago

Imagine how good the engine would be if they were paid, treated well, and respected like the instrumental force they are and deserve. Hates off to you people, including you guys doing the grind, the raw programming.. sheesh.

Nitrowolf22729d ago

I know the game industry it can be harsh in terms of finding a job but why would anyone stay on board that long if I didn't get paid for a whole month and it has already happened I would have left a long time ago. Let the company hire outside work and pay the fees to do so, not worth paying for it myself

1nsomniac2729d ago (Edited 2729d ago )

A whistleblower leaked this info months ago. He said that crytek CEO & board of directors were massively in debt & they were purposely planning on not paying wages in the hope people would eventually quit without settlements.

Tumaras2728d ago

That's brutal and super-crappy treatment if true. That's where sites like Glassdoor come in handy where you can share info about employers and what they are really like to work for. At least it helps future employees know what they are getting into. That's pretty invaluable insight. There are some big names companies that are great to work for, but then there are well-known others in the same space that are a nightmare.

Relientk772729d ago

That's seriously just ridiculous

2729d ago Replies(2)
isarai2729d ago

Well it's just a rumor but i've always felt Crytek has really needed fresh talent for designing their games. They always seem like cool concept, but executed in the most mediocre ways. Seriously if it weren't for their tech their games would rival the crappy $3 FPSs you find on steam

Paytaa2729d ago

I honestly really enjoyed the first two Crysis games but that's about it when concerned with Crytek's library.

AnubisG2729d ago

I enjoyed all 3 Crysis games but that's just me.

Lamboomington2729d ago (Edited 2729d ago )

Well Crysis 1 and Warhead are considered some of the best fps games out there by some. Crysis 1 was amazing to play. Sure the story kind of sucked, but the gameplay was epic imo.

TheOptimist2728d ago

Crysis had far more intuitive mechanics than most games today. I mean even though they gave you a futuristic suit, no one demanded them to go back to WW2 era, simply because they balanced the game out so well, it didn't feel like futuristic shit.

Kryptix2728d ago

The guys had so much potential last generation due to Crysis being highly notable, but they had terrible direction alongside terrible business decisions.

Crysis was fun, nothing special in story, but the exo suit idea was unique at the time and fun to use. At least that franchise made them hold up financially in the industry.

Ryse was a great showcase on what the engine is capable of. It was a mistake not working on a sequel to improve with what it had. There was also the mistake of not selling the IP to Microsoft when it was hot which would of lead to further use of their engine and would of at least made Ryse as some sort of success due to profits.

With Homefront: The Revolution, they bought the IP, worked on it, then sold the IP. Time wasted and possibly money wasted. Didn't do anything to prove that they're capable of doing sequels with no experience of the previous game.

Half a year without paying employees, that's tough. I wonder if it's a difference in laws that forces them to stay or lose unemployment/lay off pay benefits. Could be a lack of similar jobs stationed where Crytek is cause Instabul or Shanghai doesn't seem like popular gaming industry places. lol

Show all comments (74)
200°

Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie

Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie. This is something of a homecoming, as Microsoft owns Activision.

Read Full Story >>
engadget.com
Obscure_Observer15h ago

Very very early in development. Still, fantastic news!

Let´s GO!!!

Lightning7713h ago

I guess.

How come they didnt either let them go or sell Tango and others to another publisher? Not saying Ubisoft, EA would be any better. (Capcome would of treated them right )

At least it wouldn't be MS of all ppl destroying them.

MS really should let go Tango go like they did TFB here.

darthv7213h ago(Edited 13h ago)

one was under Bethesda (Tango) the other under Activision (TFB). Clearly each one handled the separations of their subordinates differently.

Obscure_Observer12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

"How come they didnt either let them go or sell Tango and others to another publisher? Not saying Ubisoft, EA would be any better. (Capcome would of treated them right )"

Perhaps because Zenimax and ABK handles such matters differently based on their own internal policies as "independent" publishers.

Whoever, chances are it´s simply because MS didn´t wanted Tango or Austin to be acquired by competitors and develop new bangers for them, giving MS a bad rep in a possible future. Which could also be the reason why they ensured an exclusive partnership with TFB and its new game, before anyone else.

Sad and disgusting. But it is what it is.

Lightning778h ago(Edited 8h ago)

"Whoever, chances are it´s simply because MS didn´t wanted Tango or Austin to be acquired by competitors and develop new bangers for them, giving MS a bad rep in a possible future."

MS has a bad rep now because those studios are no more. I rather them sell the studio continue to make multiplatform releases, while MS continues to focus on whatever they're doing. If they didn't want Tango around they should separated from them or sell them to, like they did TFB.

It's inexcusable, they have options on how to handle studios they don't want anymore with killing jobs. Not just MS but the rest of the industry also.

Sad and disgusting sure how many will get shut down next year or this year even?

I don't trust MS decisions and motivations at this point. You have to admit they make one dumb move after another.

Obscure_Observer1h ago(Edited 1h ago)

"MS has a bad rep now because those studios are no more. I rather them sell the studio continue to make multiplatform releases, while MS continues to focus on whatever they're doing. If they didn't want Tango around they should separated from them or sell them to, like they did TFB."

Imo, MS separated from TFB because they didn´t had a game associated with Xbox yet, unlike Tango.

"I don't trust MS decisions and motivations at this point. You have to admit they make one dumb move after another."

Fair enough. It was indeed an epic dumb move from them to close Tango.

Still, all to be forgotten, like always have. This is not the first time a big publisher shuts down a beloved and/or successful studio out of nowhere and certainly won´t be the last. Do you remember Lionhead? Do you remember Evolution Studios? Yeah... both were beloved studios and yet, those companies kill those studios in q blink of an eye and got away with it.

-Foxtrot15h ago

Manages to buy their freedom especially after all the shit Microsoft has been doing with its studios lately

...

Goes right back to them as partners.

Okaaaaaay...

darthv7212h ago

Id venture a guess that TFB working directly with MS was a better outcome than working through Activision to get to MS.

VersusDMC11h ago

From the article...

"Toys for Bob spun out as an indie back in February after Microsoft instituted sweeping layoffs that impacted 86 employees, which was more than half of the staff"

I doubt those 86 employees enjoyed the Microsoft experience over Activisions.

Inverno10h ago

MS shuts down studios because of lack of resources and then helps these guys by giving em resources. Also MS is what forced them to buy their freedom in the first place? What kind of logic 😂

Chevalier7h ago

The best thing is that the company that is worth $3 trillion and owns the company instead of Xbox lacks resources. How the hell does a company worth $3 trillion making a measly $70 billion purchase they 'can't' support. Lol

Sciurus_vulgaris13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

Xbox’s gaming division seems to still function as 3 semi-autonomous sub-divisions, Xbox Studios, Bethesda and ABK. The three main sub-divisions can seemingly shut down or build studios and set up partnerships independently. This would explain why Bethesda can recently shutdown studios, while ABK spins off one studio, while building a new one. Plus, Toys for Bob could be spun off by ABK, only to immediately re-partner with Microsoft.

Chevalier7h ago

That's absolutely 💯 BS. Any sane 'autonomous' company would NOT put their games on Gamepass day 1 like COD will lose probably billions.

Also they're all under Xbox game studios so any autonomy is an illusion.

Elda7h ago

Either a kiddie game or something uninteresting.

Obscure_Observer1h ago

Don´t worry. You won´t be playing it anyway since their next game will possible be a next gen Xbox console game.

Show all comments (17)
130°

What Happens to Your Steam Account When You Die?

The Outerhaven writes: While Steam has come out recently, stating that Steam accounts can't be transferred, we need to think about it since we all will eventually kick the bucket. But if Valve is denying transferring accounts, what can be done? Plenty, actually.

Read Full Story >>
theouterhaven.net
thorstein1d 16h ago

It goes to my kids because I gave them the passwords.

To Steam: Missio has a song that conveys my feelings about you stealing my purchase after I die. It's called "Middle Fingers"

shinoff218321h ago

Pretty much. My son knows my info.

Abear2121h ago

Yeah worrying about digital ownership when you’re on the other side of the grass seems a little strange, but also on brand for these millennial journalists to worry about.

qalpha6h ago

I'm sure Keith will be happy to hear he's a millennial journalist.

Goodguy011d 1h ago

I suppose if I have kids, I'd just give em my account details by retirement age. If I die young then...idk lol.

CrimsonWing6922h ago

Yea, I mean just give someone the password to your account. Is that difficult to do or something? Like, I’m legit asking because I don’t know.

anast20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

It's not difficult but It's against the policy. If they find out, they will lock the account permanently.

CrimsonWing6919h ago

Ah ok, I had a feeling there was something like that. It seems kind of weird that you can’t just hand your account over to a family member or friend and let them take over the account.

Show all comments (15)
90°

CDPR Confident In Transition To Unreal Engine 5 For New Witcher Game, Addresses Industry Layoffs

CD Projekt Red is confident in the transition from its in-house Red Engine to Unreal Engine 5 for the next Witcher game.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
cthulhucultist1d 3h ago

My main concern with UE5, is that some developers have resorted to very low resolutions in order to enable the advanced feature set of this engine and sustain the frame rate.

In open world games, especially those with excellent graphics, we cant realistically expect 60fps  from consoles (PS5 pro set aside as we do not know exactly how performant it will be) without huge compromises.

Thus the new Witcher game will probably require more powerful consoles to experience it the way the developers intended and in that sense, it reminds me of Cyberpunk situation.

It was released in current gen systems albeit in dire state (even PS4 Pro and Xbox One X suffered) requiring next generation consoles to achieve a desirable (and still not ideal) result.

DarXyde1d 2h ago

My thoughts exactly. This is definitely a PC engine first and foremost, given the compromises required on consoles. Tekken 8 is a **fighting game** on UE5 and, even without Nanite and Lumen, needs to be upscaled to 4K to run at a solid 60fps. The engine straight up dog walks current console hardware. I don't see this getting much better on a PS5 Pro either.

I don't see this game releasing this generation. If it wasn't Sony owned, I think Decima 2.0 would be an excellent engine for this game.

Aussiesummer1d ago (Edited 1d ago )

I am quietly confident that they are going to make one hell of a jaw dropping witcher considering what they achieved with cyberpunk, i reckon they will bring a new level of what can be expected from ue5 BUT i reckon it will be a ps6/rtx 5090 game.