Deep Silver parent company buys Homefront from Crytek
UPDATE: Hunt development shifted from Austin to Frankfurt. Crytek UK becomes Deep Silver Dambuster Studios.
UPDATE 6.52pm: Crytek has shared some details about its plans now that the developer turned publisher has found the funding necessary to get it out of the red.
Aside from selling the Homefront IP to Deep Silver, Crytek is also shifting the development of Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age from its Austin studio - primarily comprised of ex-Darksiders devs from the remnants of Vigil - to Frankfurt, Germany.
"Several staff members" will remain in Austin to provide support on CryEngine, while others will migrate to Frankfurt and continue their work on Hunt.
"As we look to cement Crytek's future, this strategic deal with Koch Media would allow us to continue with our ambitious goals to become an online publisher. With Warface, Arena of Fate and Hunt, we believe we have the perfect portfolio and teams to make that happen," said Crytek founder and CEO, Cevat Yerli. "We would like to thank all our staff - past and present - in both Nottingham and Austin for their contributions to the company, and we wish all the very best to anyone who may no longer be under the Crytek banner moving forward."
ORIGINAL STORY 5.17pm: Deep Silver parent company Koch Media has bought the Homefront intellectual property from Crytek and re-purposed Homefront: The Revolution developer Crytek UK into Deep Silver Dambuster Studios.
Koch, whose publishing subsidiary Deep Silver is responsible for Dead Island and Saints Row, has picked up the Homefront brand and all associated assets from Crytek, which had run into high-profile financial difficulties.
Today Koch said development on Homefront: The Revolution would continue at Deep Silver Dambuster Studios based in Nottingham.
Last week, after months of missed payments, Crytek issued a statement saying it had found capital that had "secured" the company's future. But it failed to say where the money had come from.
Staff at Crytek's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, and at other studios including Crytek UK were then paid.
But before then, the situation at Crytek UK raised question marks over the future of Homefront: The Revolution, slated for release at some point in 2015 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Crytek UK was once Free Radical Design, creator of the TimeSplitters franchise. Crysis maker Crytek bought the company out of administration back in February 2009 and renamed it Crytek UK. It has worked on the multiplayer portions of Crysis 2 and Crysis 3 and contributed to Xbox One launch title Ryse: Son of Rome.
Crytek UK had been working on the Homefront sequel since 2011 at the behest of publisher THQ. When THQ went bust in 2013, Crytek bought the Homefront IP, had Crytek UK continue its development using the latest version of CryEngine and secured Deep Silver as publisher.
Crytek UK attended E3 last month to present Homefront to press within publisher Deep Silver's meeting room. Crytek UK's goal with the game is to bring guerrilla warfare to the streets of Philadelphia, and get back to Crytek's roots, creating an open freeroam sandbox environment for players to explore.
