Crytek make working from home a permanent option for staff

Crytek, developers of Hunt: Showdown and the Crysis series, have announced that “the company has adopted a remote work option for employees who prefer it.” The decision comes after the studio initially switched to work-from-home during the Covid-19 pandemic and found that development didn’t slow down, and follows a similar decision made by Destiny developer Bungie last month.

“The Covid pandemic led Crytek to support its staff to work from home wherever possible. Development on games including the award-winning Hunt: Showdown and the recently announced Crysis 4 stayed on track, keeping pace with Crytek’s pre-pandemic game productions,” said Crytek in the announcement. “After engaging with employees about how they wish to work going forward, Crytek is pleased to confirm that remote work will continue to be an option for current and future colleagues. Staff can also opt to work from Crytek’s state-of-the-art offices on a full-time or part-time basis.”

The announcement also states that 80% of Crytek’s workforce are currently working from home, including employees based in USA, Brazil, India, China, the Philippines and across Europe.

As well as ongoing work on the excellent Hunt: Showdown, Crytek announced back in January that they had begun work on Crysis 4. The early announcement of that game – and this announcement of support for work-from-home – likely are designed to help the studio with recruitment.

Crytek haven’t always had the best record when it comes to treatment of their employees. Back in 2014, staff at the company’s studios complained that they hadn’t been paid, a reaction which company co-founder Cevat Yerli called “impatient”.

The change to permanently support working from home is in keeping with an industry trend towards employee flexibility. Earlier this year, Bungie announced that after two years of staff working from home due to the pandemic, the studio would continue to support home working in certain US states. Several studios have also recently announced a switch to a four-day work week, including Blackbird Interactive, Armor Games and Eidos Montreal.