While many displaced developers are currently seeking jobs in the wake of a recent round of layoffs at Crysis developer Crytek, one studio has emerged from the aftermath with its staff intact, and is revealing that it has a new project in the works as an independent entity.
Bulgarian studio Black Sea Games, formerly Arena of Fate developer Crytek Black Sea, is now seeking applicants who are committed to “chasing your dreams and having the courage to keep going on, no matter what.”
Crytek Black Sea was one of five worldwide studios that were shut down by Crytek in December. Other affected businesses include now-shuttered Crytek studios in Hungary, South Korea, China, and Turkey.
The mass closures arrived after rumors surfaced suggesting that Crytek had been unable to make payroll payments to its employees throughout 2016. Black Sea Games’ website notes that the studio was founded in November, suggesting that Crytek had started shuttering its worldwide studios before December’s announcement.
“Black Sea Games is a new game company, but we have been around for awhile,” the reformed studio announced this week. “Recently we realized we missed the ‘old times,’ the good old core-gaming, the sleepless nights spent solving that quest or defeating the next enemy on the map, while at the same time working hard during the small hours to quickly add another great feature to our own game. Well, this is how Black Sea Games was born again!”
Crytek itself has outlined a similar back-to-basics strategy for 2017.
“Our focus now lies entirely on the core strengths that have always defined Crytek — world-class developers, state-of-the-art technology, and innovative game development, and we believe that going through this challenging process will make us a more agile, viable, and attractive studio, primed for future success,” Crytek co-founder Avni Yerli stated following last month’s mass studio shutdown.
Industry veteran Vesselin Hanjiev has stepped up to lead Black Sea Games after serving as the studio’s managing director under Crytek. Details regarding the studio’s upcoming games are not yet known.
