Crytek hat Free Radical aufgekauft

[Willy]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-console-plans

Crysis developer Crytek has told GamesIndustry.biz that the acquisition of Free Radical Design will accelerate the developer's plans to enter the console market.

Crytek is well-regarded for its high-end PC games, while the Free Radical team in the UK has extensive experience working on multiple home consoles with titles such as Haze, TimeSplitters and Second Sight.

"We always planned to enter the console market and it was part of our strategy even before the acquisition. This step will certainly bring us forward a bit faster to achieve our goal to develop high quality games on consoles," said Cevat Yerli, president and CEO of Crytek.

Free Radical Design was working on TimeSplitters 4 before falling into administration last year, but Crytek would not comment on specific projects, stating that "at the moment we're looking into all possibilities and haven't decided anything yet."

However, the UK studio is now staffing up in anticipation of a full-blown project, with Yerli confirming work is about to begin on a project at the newly renamed Crytek UK.

"Right now we're looking at 42 people and intend to bring the studio to full production capability in the near future,” he said. “This is something that relates to the project we'll be kicking off very shortly."

Crytek swooped for the beleaguered UK developer last week, picking up staff, technology and intellectual properties.

The group, which also has locations in Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Germany and South Korea, has been open in its frustration of PC games piracy, with Yerli last year stating that the developer will no longer create games exclusively for the PC market.

With Free Radical now part of the group, all eyes will be on the developer's plans for home consoles.

"We think Free Radical fits into our culture and strategy," added Yerli. "They have a proven track record in developing great games on consoles and PC. This combined with our own CryENGINE technology and a very experienced team is more than perfect for us."

Thanks to Mocib from inCrysis!

[Mykill_Myers]

Der Post von Sir Willy sagt eigentlich alles,dennoch for the sake of completeness

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/44...esplitters-I-P

VE3D:"Could you clarify whether Crytek also purchased rights to Timesplitters 4 and other Free Radical I.P.?"
Jens Schäfer(Crytek PR):"Yes, the rights for their major IPs now belong to Crytek."

[Ruzz22]

Haze wurde exklusiv für die PS3 entwickelt und flopte stark !

ich finde ja haze is so ein wanabee crysis für konsolen...

[alex9.3]

Nicht nur du....

[Captain-S]

Im Vergleich zur CE2 sieht das mal echt übel aus...
Wird Zeit dass die Jungs mal eine vernünftige Engine bekommen.

[Willy]

www.edge-online.com/features/cryteks-advantageous-timesplitters-buy

Crytek's Advantageous TimeSplitters Buy

When Crytek saw that U.K.-based Free Radical Design was in trouble, the German studio, known for Crysis, saw an opportunity.

Free Radical, the studio behind the first-person TimeSplitters shooter franchise and founded by key developers of the revered Goldeneye 007 for N64, had locked its doors in mid-December, just before the holiday, laying off the majority of staff.

Crytek adjusted quickly to take advantage of the situation, deciding to add a fifth studio to its network. Asked if Crytek was actively looking for studio acquisitions at the time of Free Radical's troubles, studio execs told Edge in a joint interview, "No, we were not actively looking for acquisition targets but always wanted to be in the U.K., the next big step for us. Acquiring Free Radical was thus a great chance for us to realize this aim."

The remaining 43 members of Free Radical ended up coming on board with Crytek, including co-founder Steve Ellis, who was previously rumored to have splintered off into a new venture. The Nottingham-based studio would now become Crytek U.K. and "begin anew," Crytek said.

Along with those remaining staffers came intellectual property, namely the TimeSplitters franchise, which in the past had been published by Eidos and Electronic Arts across three different entries. Crytek confirmed, "Yes, the major Free Radical Design IPs were part of the deal."

The FPS genre is crowded, not with fluff, but with high-quality, well-funded titles nowadays. Even amidst this competition, there has been an underlying buzz surrounding the next TimeSplitters, despite the fact that the franchise has been dormant for four years. The studio had openly confirmed that TimeSplitters 4 is in development.

Crytek, whose games have a grittier realism than the TimeSplitters series, wouldn't confirm what exactly its new U.K. arm would be working on, only saying, "The studio fits into our culture and strategy as they have a proven track record in developing great games on consoles and PC. Our own CryENGINE technology combined with the team’s rich experience is more than perfect we think."

Crytek's console plans are no secret. The company's job listings have revealed open positions for console development, and CryENGINE 2 tech has been showcased for PS3 and Xbox 360. Free Radical's familiarity with console shooters likely sweetened the deal, as Crytek had become known as a PC-centric developer.

Erneut Danke an Mocib von inCrysis. Ich finde das zwar immer etwas frech von mir, das einfach so alles zu übernehmen, aber was will man machen. News sind News.

[Link93]

Timesplitters in Cryengine2?
Hallo wie GENIAL wär das denn

[Willy]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3172848

Crytek Speaks on Free Radical Purchase

Two weeks ago, Crytek signed a deal to acquire Nottingham, UK-based developer Free Radical. Since then, we've heard rampant speculation about what this will mean for the recently-troubled team, so we went to Crytek managing director Anvi Yerli, one of three brothers who run the Crysis developer, to find out more about the acquisition and why he considers Free Radical a "more than perfect" fit for his team.

Previously a PC only game development company, Crytek announced plans last year to go multi-platform, citing increasing PC game piracy as one of the reasons. Recently, it has been advertising for console programmers, especially those with PlayStation 3 experience. Yerli admits that one of the attractions of Free Radical, which produced PS3-exclusive shooter Haze, was its track record in this area. "Our console plans are no secret -- they happened long before we thought of the acquisition of Free Radical. But in the end, the fact that Free Radical is very experienced with console shooters made the deal even more valuable."

The takeover means that, along with the studio, Crytek now owns the rights to all the major intellectual property that previously belonged to Free Radical -- including the popular TimeSplitters franchise, for which Free Radical had plans before their recent troubles -- but Yerli doesn't have any word on what might become of that just yet. "At this early stage we're looking into all possibilities, but it's just too early to say," he says, adding that Crytek will be taking a close look at the projects which were underway at the studio before the changes happened, and then making decisions together with the development team.

Whether the team continues with an old project or begins a new one, it seems Crytek is not looking to use them in one specific way. "Our internal focus is not linked to bringing Crysis to consoles," says Yerli.

He also confirms that the company -- now re-named Crytek UK -- plans to rehire an unknown number of the 185 staff made redundant on December 31. "To bring the studio to full production capacity in the near future, we intend to employ further staff and some of the staff made redundant did apply," he says.

Finally, Yerli says Crytek has no plans for additional acquisitions in the near future: "We currently have a very strong network with our studios in Frankfurt, Kiev, Budapest, Sofia, Seoul and now also Nottingham, after the acquisition. Our priority is to grow healthy."

Thanks for posting, Mocib.

[foofi]

schöne Zusammenfassung!