Anyone familiar with FPS games has probably heard the term “Crytek” or “CryEngine” at some point. …then probably forgot about it. If you haven’t heard about it, CryEngine is a game engine that was made popular by the EA published and Crytek Frankfut developed “Crysis” series. This series was famed for it’s gorgeous graphics and tight gameplay. It was, however, also know for it’s insanely high system requirements. Most everyone who wanted to play this game, at least at an enjoyable level, was required to upgrade their computer; or their video card at the very least. It’s a bit of a bittersweet fact considering it caused so many problems for so many people because it was such a beautiful game.

  Other than Crysis, the only other hugely known games that have used CryEngine are the MMORPG Aion and Far Cry. The latter of the being owned by Ubisoft. With that being said, it’s understandable why Crytek president and CEO Cevat Yerli would want a larger piece of the gaming industry. While working towards licensing the latest engine, CryEngine 3, to other developers, Yerli had this to say:

  ” [CryEngine 3] is the only game engine solution that enables real-time development and can ensure teams are able to maximize their own creativity, save budget and create greater gaming experiences,” boasts Yerli. “Even producers, project managers, and suits will love CryEngine 3!”

  No matter how many nice things Yerli has to say about the engine, it’s still going to be rough competing to the likes of the Unreal Engine 3 by Epic Games. Unreal Engine 3 has been the most largely used engine in this gaming generation. After winning out against the general failure that was idTech’s latest engine after Doom 3, UE3 became the standard.

  Due to the fact that there are already major standards in the market, most game developers and artists are already familiar with a certain engine. Switching from one to another, especially with such a dramatic difference between the first and the second, it seems an almost futile attempt on Crytek’s part.

  Despite the amount of pessimistic things about switching to CryEngine 3 for most developers, it is good to see Crytek at least trying to get it’s name to grow. Already having a number of gorgeous games under their belt, it’s hard to imagine that at least one more well known series won’t take notice.

  What do you guys think? Do you think it’s a good idea? What games can you see using it in the future? …Or do you just hate Crytek in general? Whatever the case may be, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think!