36 recently laid off Vigil staff now at Crytek

Update: Crytek CEO, Cevat Yerli confirmed in a Gamasutra interview that Crytek is not intending to purchase the Darksiders IP.

Instead, Yerli stated, "It would be pretty much safe to say that this team will be working on online games." He added that Crytek USA will focus on "online games and kick-ass triple-A productions."

"It is going to be quite a significant investment for Crytek over the next five years."

Original story: Last week's THQ closure left the publisher's most beloved properties like Saint's Row and Company of Heroes scattered in several different directions with publishers like Sega and Ubisoft taking the reins, but curiously, the one studio that nobody bought was Darksiders' developer Vigil Games. There were rumours that Bayonetta developer Platinum Games was courting them, but it looks like Vigil general manager and co-owner David Adams along with 35 members of his team have landed a role with Crytek, as the Crysis developer opens up its first North American office in Austin, Texas.

Adams, is now the newly appointed CEO of Crytek's US studio. "I'm thrilled to be a part of the newest Crytek studio, which will boast some of the brightest development talent in the industry," he said in the announcement. "The studio's launch represents Crytek's commitment to delivering diverse and high quality content to players everywhere."

Crytek CEO, Cevat Yerli added, "We are extremely excited about the work that we will be undertaking from our strategic new location in Austin, with David Adams and his team of 35 experienced developers. We believe our CryENGINE technology will enable the team we assemble to create unparalleled new gaming experiences."

"Crytek has always enjoyed a special relationship with gamers and business partners in North America, so establishing a permanent presence in the US was a natural step."

Besides the new Austin studio, Crytek has headquarters in Germany, the Ukraine, Hungary, Bulgaria, South Korea, the UK, China, and Turkey.

Now, the question remains: will this new studio continue Vigil's work on the project codenamed Crawler that lead combat designer Ben Cureton was so excited about? We've followed up with Crytek about this - as well as the rights to Darksiders - and will update if we find anything out.

Last week Crytek bought the right to Homefront for $544,218. It was already developing a sequel to the 2011 shooter, so now it will either self-publish or strike up a deal with another publisher.