Crytek Opens New Studio In Budapest

Independent developer Crytek (Far Cry, Crysis) has announced that the company has opened a new studio in Budapest, Hungary. According to company officials, the expansion serves as part of the developer's larger strategy to expand on the number of types of games developed by Crytek, as well as leverage its CryENGINE 2 middleware technology. In a statement announcing the opening, Crytek's managing director Avni Yerli notes that locations for the new studio were scouted over the last two years. Budapest was finally selected “because it is both a wonderful city in which to work and live, and because we were able to draw on a significant pool of very qualified and experienced game development talent already in place there." The opening of the new office follows on the heels of the company's expansion efforts in Kiev, transforming that area's facility into a full development studio focused on the creation of a new original IP. Like the new Budapest studio, the expanded Kiev studio will also focus heavily on development using CryENGINE 2. Yerli added: "We think it is a great way to widen our horizons and develop for a new gaming genre while continuing our company's strategic growth and expansion. It is also an opportunity to further leverage all the effort that our team has put into developing our proprietary CryENGINE 2 technology while building on our tradition of producing the highly innovative and creative kind of games for which we are known."