A German gaming magazine says that Crytek, developer of the Crysis series and makers of the CryEngine, is on the verge of bankruptcy after a disastrous launch of their Xbox One launch exclusive, Ryse: Son of Rome.

However, this report has come as news to the folks at Crytek who denied that there is a problem with cash flows at the German developer. All this while more reports come out indicating that the current situation at Crytek is very dire.

The report from GameStar claims that Crytek’s financial situation was hinging on signing a deal with a publisher that would provide a cash injection that the company desperately needs. Crytek staff are allegedly being poached by other studios in what the magazine called a “brain drain.” The developer is also the target of a takeover bid by Wargaming.

When contacted by Eurogamer, Crytek denied GameStar’s report and referred to it as “rumours.” However, their statement didn’t make any mention of the financial status of the company which basically made it a non-denial denial of the report.

Eurogamer added to GameStar’s report that Crytek Black Sea hasn’t paid its employees for the last two months. Crytek UK, the team behind Homefront: Revolution, reportedly is late with payroll payments as well.

Crytek is currently in a bit of a transition period from a business standpoint. Previously only a one studio developer, the original Frankfurt studio (home of Crysis and the original Far Cry) has been joined recently by the acquisitions of a UK studio (formerly Free Radical Design of Timesplitters fame) and the creations of studios in Seoul, Istanbul, Shanghai and Austin.

Crytek is currently going from a one-IP studio (Crysis) and putting its nine offices to work on a variety of IPs and a number of free-to-play titles. New IPs include free-to-play mobile game The Collectables, free-to-play MOBA Arena of Fate and free-to-play survival horror Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age. Suffice to say that Crytek is undergoing a massive series of changes right now.

While we shouldn’t forget that reports of Visceral Games Montreal being shut down might have been refuted (though it was more like everyone stopped caring about that story before we got a straight story), that was only one outlet that reported that story. In this instance, GameStar and Eurogamer are both reporting financial troubles at Crytek. Where there’s that much smoke, there’s fire. Hopefully it doesn’t end with the demise of a developer who is has pushed the boundaries with the Crysis series and is powering the next generation of indie games with its CryEngine.

Source: Eurogamer