9 ms·

Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving

151 points by greendesk 10y ago

gtirloni 10y ago
What bothers me the most is that, in my limited view, these companies can do shady stuff like that, close down and it's end of story. What's in place to punish the owners so they have less incentive to try this again? This extends to startups that sign support contracts for their products X years in the future and go belly up, leaving customers with dead weight equipment. A colleague, frustrated at such an event, said he would seek legal reparations to which he heard back "who are you going to sue? The company doesn't exist anymore" and that was it. What's in place to go after irresponsible individuals in those situations? EDIT: I understand there are risks in every business negotiation. Would this be an example of customer naivety (in not performing due diligence before acquiring products/service from companies if they expect long-term support?) Is the customer to blame for not knowing how to properly play this game?
- einrealist 10y ago
  No, they cannot do that. Delaying filing for insolvency is a crime in Germany. Unable to pay wages is reason enough to file for insolvency. German courts don't take that lightly.
  - gtirloni 10y ago
    So the owners can go to jail or get their personal property confiscated for this in Germany? That's reassuring. The situation I described happened with a US startup. I'd be curious what we should have done in that situation.
    - einrealist 10y ago
      They can go to jail, yes. But confiscation of property depends on the company type. Crytek is a "GmbH", which means that the property of the owners is usually safe, unless they unlawfully took assets out of the company.
      - lithos 10y ago
        I can't imagine a silicon valley startup that doesn't blur the lines of miss using assets. Though good luck getting a hold of their books.
      - cf21 10y ago
        If you delay in filing for insolvency you become liable with your private assets in Germany (certainly true for GmbH).
        spangry 10y ago
        Same for Australian corporations (directors become liable for knowingly trading while insolvent). Normally they're treated as completely separate legal entities, but not in this specific case. I'm sure there are instances of this in US law too: I'd always thought the term 'piercing the corporate veil' originated from the US...
- crdoconnor 10y ago
  This is why unions were formed.
giancarlostoro 10y ago
I wonder how long till somebody either buys them out, or they die out. It is a shock to me and a shame. I've always appreciated game engines as a programmer knowing full well the amount of work regular software takes, their engine still astounds me. I hope the best happens, it would be a huge shame to see those developers be lost. There has to be a company out there that would benefit from such engineers. Maybe Valve, Microsoft, Apple? Google even? I say big players because it would put them in a competitive area of the gaming industry. Just thinking aloud. I hope for the best for those employees, and I hope this is a lesson to us all that money should be managed wisely, regardless of if you're running a company or your own personal finances.
- spangry 10y ago
  The specific skill set crytek game engine devs have is increasingly in demand, which will continue to grow. Specifically, the ability to write highly optimised code (mostly C++) to parallel process large amounts of data on GPUs. If I were running one of the machine learning divisions in MS, Google et. al. I would be combing through linked-in and firing up the headhunters right about now. The alternative is, of course, company acquisition. You're not really buying the IP in this case (although its a nice side bonus), you're 'buying' the dev talent in one big company-sized package.
- pitaj 10y ago
  I doubt those employees will have any issue finding work. Gaming is an expanding industry.
  - golergka 10y ago
    Game engine building is not an expandibg specialization inside that industry though.
    - Yuioup 10y ago
      The technical skill and talent required for complex game engines should be more than enough for any job in programming.
knucklesandwich 10y ago
Reminder that wage theft is estimated to cost workers over $50 billion a year, more than the cost to victims of all robberies, burglaries, and larcenies combined: http://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-workers-hundreds/ http://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-w...
- cperciva 10y ago
  I'm not sure I see the relevance. A company failing to pay money it doesn't have is not the same thing as stealing money.
  - moron4hire 10y ago
    Then it shouldn't have taken work it couldn't afford.
  - manyxcxi 10y ago
    Why doesn't it have the funds, and is it just making sure to pay other people/vendors first? If there's money in the bank and it doesn't go to paying the employees or executing a maneuver to get the employees paid, its theft plain and simple. At that point leadership is deciding not to pay all that it can. If there's 0 in the bank, it's just bad business, but they can't do anything else, other than at least be forthright, which it seems like they refuse to be.
    - lithos 10y ago
      Individual employees don't have legal weight. Vendors do.
      - icebraining 10y ago
        That depends on the jurisdiction.
  - knucklesandwich 10y ago
    IANAL, and from what I understand the laws about pay schedule vary by state, so I'm not going to make some claim I can't substantiate. But my guess is if you're 5 weeks late paying your employees you're most likely committing wage theft (probably also not paying payroll taxes on time). You have to liquidate assets, conduct layoffs, or close the business from what I understand. Crytek is also German, right? So I have no idea how that works there.
manyxcxi 10y ago
I couldn't imagine sticking around for this long if the problems have been going on since June. I would've been looking for a new job the second my first check was late and would've executed a move immediately after the second was late as well. I get the idea of 'if you leave maybe you never get paid', but if you stay you've obviously got no guarantee of getting paid either, and you'll at least be doing something that hopefully does pay while fighting for what's owed.
- BoorishBears 10y ago
  Maybe there isn't much of an overlap in positions that seek the skills those working at the studio had, and open positions nearby.
  - greendesk 10y ago
    It is anecdotal evidence, but I had two friends at two separate companies that missed to pay salaries. The two people individually found comfort in the environment, and at first neither was not seeking a move. The motivation was led by the persons' belief that the situation will go back to normal, not by a lack of qualifications or demand thereof. Both people were/are highly qualified and had skills in demand. Their situation can be unique to them, I can't know the motivations of developers I don't know.
    - zem 10y ago
      also a month's pay is a lot of money, and you know if you leave you will never see it. the hope is by staying you will eventually get your back pay too
ajeet_dhaliwal 10y ago
I got into programming and software development due to my love of games. I've created independent games and worked at major game studios. If this is article is accurate then unfortunately I'm not surprised. There are major business model related issues across the industry. Top talent getting low pay and doing it just because of "passion" which can only last so long (for an individual) but the then new blood arrives for the cycle to continue. Games and game engines are hard to create and require excellence across multiple disciplines and customers do not value games enough to pay what they are used to already. Prices are similar to what they were for triple-a titles as back in the 90s when games were simpler. Add HD/4K graphics and the latest networking, audio, other modern jazz and all the staff required and what they're charging for a game is a joke.
- matt4077 10y ago
  What they're charging is plenty. - programming has become much more efficient due to better tools (such as engines) and the ability to waste a few clock cycles here and there. - The market for games has expanded dramatically since the 90ies. There are 10x as many people with the hardware and money to buy your game (not even counting mobile). - Piracy today is significantly lower than it was in the 90ies, mostly due to constant network connectivity. Here's a nice chart, showing revenue quadrupled since 2000: http://1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/global-video-game-sector-revenue.jpg http://1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-c...
  - DaiPlusPlus 10y ago
    That chart says that "PC games" amount for maybe $2-4bn in revenue in 2014 compared to console games' $20bn - that order-of-magnitude difference doesn't sit well with me at all. Where's the source data for this chart? I find it hard to believe that mobile games generate 5x more revenue than PC games.
  - ajeet_dhaliwal 10y ago
    I'm taking about console/tripe a games, if that chart is right then it shows the revenue for those has not quadrupled and even if it did it says nothing about profitability.
djsumdog 10y ago
It's sad, but it shouldn't be surprising. Game companies are constantly trying to hit deadlines and push out new products; often stressing out developers, artists and the rest of their production staff. From what I hear, it seems as bad as the movie industry. Some companies get one windfall, think they have room to relax and then run out of money (often spending too much on fancy offices or stupid crap in the process). Games got me into computer science, but after reading articles and talking to people I know who went down that route, I'm glad I never got into it. Don't get me wrong, the engines and games people design are amazing and I still enjoy playing them, but it takes a toll on the designers for sure.
- giancarlostoro 10y ago
  You may consider the indie game scene if you love games enough. I too love games, but I don't see myself doing game dev outside of indie developments.
- Agentlien 10y ago
  I also got into programming because of games and after doing some freelance work for a game studio (as a summer job two summers in a row during my university studies) and seeing all the bad stuff people talk about first hand I was hesitant to go into that industry after graduating. Three and a half years later, however, I was tired of the job I had and wanted to try something new. I'd heard some great things about a local game studio and decided to check it out. I've now been working at Ghost Games for nearly two years and it feels like one of the best decision I've ever made. A key point here is that EA has undergone a lot of changes these last few years and are really pushing to get away from the old ways of burning through talent like it's firewood to fuel the game making machinery. I don't know how far other EA studios have come, but DICE and Ghost (which is sort of a DICE subsidiary) have become great places to work.
- bigtex 10y ago
  When I was in high school I wanted to be a game developer. I loved playing video games at the time ( late 90's), why not get paid to make them as well! Then I read an article in Next Generation that discussed the games industry and then that dream vanished. After reading about crazy deadlines where husbands didn't come home for weeks and couples having conjugal visits in the office I decided that wasn't for me. Sounds like a lot hasn't changed in the past 20 years.
shmerl 10y ago
They should open source the engine and tools (as in proper FOSS), if they are to shut down. At least it won't be wasted.
- witty_username 10y ago
  Probably it'd be sold by creditors.
bobajeff 10y ago
"Rather than building on stronger IP like Crysis, Timesplitters or Ryse, Crytek has tried its luck with VR and free to play projects, which aren’t paying the bills." I wonder what costed them the most resources VR or Free-to-play games.
- andybak 10y ago
  I really don't understand why studios aren't doing VR revamps of existing succesful games. The Doom 3 mod shows how successful this can be. It's one of the best experiences out there and it's a free mod made possible by the fact the source for Doom 3 was released by ID. Yeah - the textures could do with being a bit higher res and not everyone can stomach the locomotion - but come on - throw stuff out there and see what happens There's not a massive user base but it's chicken and egg and repurposing existing content could be a great boost for the sector.
  - krapp 10y ago
    Your last sentence answers your initial inquiry. There aren't enough VR users to be worth the investment.
- ajsalminen 10y ago
  I think the VR games could well have been "paying the bills". They're both exclusives and likely wouldn't have happened without Oculus and Sony paying for them.
BoorishBears 10y ago
Strangely enough, a few days ago someone who seemed to be an employee of Crytek Budapest posted a plea with similar contents but it was flagged... Edit: Looks like it's since been unflagged: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13140938 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13140938 > Crytek haven't paid their employees in Bulgaria in 3 months and all workers in that office are currently owed 3 full salaries. The company is not looking to pay these salaries any time soon and have spent the last few months lying about the availability of this money in order to keep as many employees as possible. > The Yerli brothers (Avni, Cevat and Faruk) are now looking at the second delay in the last 6 months (after finishing up a delay of 2 months just before the current one) and the third payment delay in the last two years. > The former director of the Sofia studio, Vesselin Handjiev, left several months ago and the studio is entirely at the mercy of Crytek Frankfurt's leadership, which has proved to be unsuccessful in stemming the current bleeding for 6 months. > Anyone who has an offer or is otherwise considering joining Crytek is advised to steer their ship elsewhere, as the current situation is rumored to apply to all studios within the company, even after the closure and selling off of several of the Crytek studios around the world.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- dang 10y ago
  > Looks like it's since been unflagged Some users flagged it and other users vouched for it, which is one way for a story to get unflagged.
static_noise 10y ago
My understanding is that a company which fails to pay the wages is automatically liqudated (after someone triggers the official process and they still fail to pay). For employees it is actually problematic to continue working if they don't get paid in full.
- space_ghost 10y ago
  I've personally been through this twice as an employee. "Everything's fine." "Everything's fine." "Everything's fine." "We're shutting down operations today and locking the doors, clean out your desk and leave the property."
illuminati1911 10y ago
Seems weird. A week ago in linkedin they were still looking for new people to multiple sites internationally.
- josephagoss 10y ago
  Perhaps they are so desperate for new people that they need to hire to cover the losses?
- aikah 10y ago
  Sure, you can apply, just expect to work long hours for free.
- thisone 10y ago
  I worked for a company that ended up failing to pay wages (long story with a lot of lying and shady owners). They were hiring until the bitter end. The last hire never got paid by the company at all.
  - ownagefool 10y ago
    I'm a contractor: I got hired by a company that wasnt paying it's wages. Nobody told me about it but in hindsight, it was probably clear given the churn of the employees. I started bankruptcy proceedings when they failed to pay me and got paid because of that, whilst others who didn't quite share my immediacy never got paid. I left for another company that had form for not paying it's bills and again it still had workers, both employees and contractors that didn't really make me aware until I was already owed quite a bit. I tried the same tactic when they failed to pay me, but they disputed my work (which thus requires court proceedings). Unfortunately the intermediary I was using winded up and I lost any ability to follow up the case and thus this company is no doubt still hiring consultants in and not paying them. Both companies are still around in one form or another despite having IP that they've essentially stole. On the bright side I learnt a lot about business and binned off the intermediaries.
- patates 10y ago
  They still seem to do: http://www.crytek.com/career/offers/overview/frankfurt/programming-engineering http://www.crytek.com/career/offers/overview/frankfurt/progr...
Roritharr 10y ago
Having friends there here in Frankfurt, this makes me deeply and profoundly sad, and angry. This seems to be the result of the founders disregard for anything but their own fame and glory. The lesson should probably be that some humility, pragmatism is definetly needed.
- grx 10y ago
  I just hope the IP stays in Germany. Really sad to see that one of our internationally better-known game forges seems to die. Like so many good studios before them.
ommunist 10y ago
When you achieve a certain size, you need a layer of conservative power, to keep company going.
einrealist 10y ago
Sounds like a delayed filing of insolvency.
bhouston 10y ago
How does this affect Amazon 's game engine? Btw the way anyone know if the aws game engine is successful?
petetnt 10y ago
We also had this post on Who's Firing last month: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12853270 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12853270
n0mad01 10y ago
nomen est omen
nickik 10y ago
I loved the first Crisis and the Warhead add-on, but every game after that was not even in the same league. Quite sad.

151 points by greendesk 10y ago

What bothers me the most is that, in my limited view, these companies can do shady stuff like that, close down and it's end of story. What's in place to punish the owners so they have less incentive to try this again? This extends to startups that sign support contracts for their products X years in the future and go belly up, leaving customers with dead weight equipment. A colleague, frustrated at such an event, said he would seek legal reparations to which he heard back "who are you going to sue? The company doesn't exist anymore" and that was it. What's in place to go after irresponsible individuals in those situations? EDIT: I understand there are risks in every business negotiation. Would this be an example of customer naivety (in not performing due diligence before acquiring products/service from companies if they expect long-term support?) Is the customer to blame for not knowing how to properly play this game?

einrealist 10y ago
No, they cannot do that. Delaying filing for insolvency is a crime in Germany. Unable to pay wages is reason enough to file for insolvency. German courts don't take that lightly.
- gtirloni 10y ago
  So the owners can go to jail or get their personal property confiscated for this in Germany? That's reassuring. The situation I described happened with a US startup. I'd be curious what we should have done in that situation.
  - einrealist 10y ago
    They can go to jail, yes. But confiscation of property depends on the company type. Crytek is a "GmbH", which means that the property of the owners is usually safe, unless they unlawfully took assets out of the company.
    - lithos 10y ago
      I can't imagine a silicon valley startup that doesn't blur the lines of miss using assets. Though good luck getting a hold of their books.
    - cf21 10y ago
      If you delay in filing for insolvency you become liable with your private assets in Germany (certainly true for GmbH).
      - spangry 10y ago
        Same for Australian corporations (directors become liable for knowingly trading while insolvent). Normally they're treated as completely separate legal entities, but not in this specific case. I'm sure there are instances of this in US law too: I'd always thought the term 'piercing the corporate veil' originated from the US...
crdoconnor 10y ago
This is why unions were formed.

giancarlostoro 10y ago

I wonder how long till somebody either buys them out, or they die out. It is a shock to me and a shame. I've always appreciated game engines as a programmer knowing full well the amount of work regular software takes, their engine still astounds me. I hope the best happens, it would be a huge shame to see those developers be lost. There has to be a company out there that would benefit from such engineers. Maybe Valve, Microsoft, Apple? Google even? I say big players because it would put them in a competitive area of the gaming industry. Just thinking aloud. I hope for the best for those employees, and I hope this is a lesson to us all that money should be managed wisely, regardless of if you're running a company or your own personal finances.

spangry 10y ago
The specific skill set crytek game engine devs have is increasingly in demand, which will continue to grow. Specifically, the ability to write highly optimised code (mostly C++) to parallel process large amounts of data on GPUs. If I were running one of the machine learning divisions in MS, Google et. al. I would be combing through linked-in and firing up the headhunters right about now. The alternative is, of course, company acquisition. You're not really buying the IP in this case (although its a nice side bonus), you're 'buying' the dev talent in one big company-sized package.
pitaj 10y ago
I doubt those employees will have any issue finding work. Gaming is an expanding industry.
- golergka 10y ago
  Game engine building is not an expandibg specialization inside that industry though.
  - Yuioup 10y ago
    The technical skill and talent required for complex game engines should be more than enough for any job in programming.

knucklesandwich 10y ago

Reminder that wage theft is estimated to cost workers over $50 billion a year, more than the cost to victims of all robberies, burglaries, and larcenies combined: http://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-workers-hundreds/ http://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-w...

cperciva 10y ago
I'm not sure I see the relevance. A company failing to pay money it doesn't have is not the same thing as stealing money.
- moron4hire 10y ago
  Then it shouldn't have taken work it couldn't afford.
- manyxcxi 10y ago
  Why doesn't it have the funds, and is it just making sure to pay other people/vendors first? If there's money in the bank and it doesn't go to paying the employees or executing a maneuver to get the employees paid, its theft plain and simple. At that point leadership is deciding not to pay all that it can. If there's 0 in the bank, it's just bad business, but they can't do anything else, other than at least be forthright, which it seems like they refuse to be.
  - lithos 10y ago
    Individual employees don't have legal weight. Vendors do.
    - icebraining 10y ago
      That depends on the jurisdiction.
- knucklesandwich 10y ago
  IANAL, and from what I understand the laws about pay schedule vary by state, so I'm not going to make some claim I can't substantiate. But my guess is if you're 5 weeks late paying your employees you're most likely committing wage theft (probably also not paying payroll taxes on time). You have to liquidate assets, conduct layoffs, or close the business from what I understand. Crytek is also German, right? So I have no idea how that works there.

manyxcxi 10y ago

I couldn't imagine sticking around for this long if the problems have been going on since June. I would've been looking for a new job the second my first check was late and would've executed a move immediately after the second was late as well. I get the idea of 'if you leave maybe you never get paid', but if you stay you've obviously got no guarantee of getting paid either, and you'll at least be doing something that hopefully does pay while fighting for what's owed.

BoorishBears 10y ago
Maybe there isn't much of an overlap in positions that seek the skills those working at the studio had, and open positions nearby.
- greendesk 10y ago
  It is anecdotal evidence, but I had two friends at two separate companies that missed to pay salaries. The two people individually found comfort in the environment, and at first neither was not seeking a move. The motivation was led by the persons' belief that the situation will go back to normal, not by a lack of qualifications or demand thereof. Both people were/are highly qualified and had skills in demand. Their situation can be unique to them, I can't know the motivations of developers I don't know.
  - zem 10y ago
    also a month's pay is a lot of money, and you know if you leave you will never see it. the hope is by staying you will eventually get your back pay too

ajeet_dhaliwal 10y ago

I got into programming and software development due to my love of games. I've created independent games and worked at major game studios. If this is article is accurate then unfortunately I'm not surprised. There are major business model related issues across the industry. Top talent getting low pay and doing it just because of "passion" which can only last so long (for an individual) but the then new blood arrives for the cycle to continue. Games and game engines are hard to create and require excellence across multiple disciplines and customers do not value games enough to pay what they are used to already. Prices are similar to what they were for triple-a titles as back in the 90s when games were simpler. Add HD/4K graphics and the latest networking, audio, other modern jazz and all the staff required and what they're charging for a game is a joke.

matt4077 10y ago
What they're charging is plenty. - programming has become much more efficient due to better tools (such as engines) and the ability to waste a few clock cycles here and there. - The market for games has expanded dramatically since the 90ies. There are 10x as many people with the hardware and money to buy your game (not even counting mobile). - Piracy today is significantly lower than it was in the 90ies, mostly due to constant network connectivity. Here's a nice chart, showing revenue quadrupled since 2000: http://1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/global-video-game-sector-revenue.jpg http://1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-c...
- DaiPlusPlus 10y ago
  That chart says that "PC games" amount for maybe $2-4bn in revenue in 2014 compared to console games' $20bn - that order-of-magnitude difference doesn't sit well with me at all. Where's the source data for this chart? I find it hard to believe that mobile games generate 5x more revenue than PC games.
- ajeet_dhaliwal 10y ago
  I'm taking about console/tripe a games, if that chart is right then it shows the revenue for those has not quadrupled and even if it did it says nothing about profitability.

djsumdog 10y ago

It's sad, but it shouldn't be surprising. Game companies are constantly trying to hit deadlines and push out new products; often stressing out developers, artists and the rest of their production staff. From what I hear, it seems as bad as the movie industry. Some companies get one windfall, think they have room to relax and then run out of money (often spending too much on fancy offices or stupid crap in the process). Games got me into computer science, but after reading articles and talking to people I know who went down that route, I'm glad I never got into it. Don't get me wrong, the engines and games people design are amazing and I still enjoy playing them, but it takes a toll on the designers for sure.

giancarlostoro 10y ago
You may consider the indie game scene if you love games enough. I too love games, but I don't see myself doing game dev outside of indie developments.
Agentlien 10y ago
I also got into programming because of games and after doing some freelance work for a game studio (as a summer job two summers in a row during my university studies) and seeing all the bad stuff people talk about first hand I was hesitant to go into that industry after graduating. Three and a half years later, however, I was tired of the job I had and wanted to try something new. I'd heard some great things about a local game studio and decided to check it out. I've now been working at Ghost Games for nearly two years and it feels like one of the best decision I've ever made. A key point here is that EA has undergone a lot of changes these last few years and are really pushing to get away from the old ways of burning through talent like it's firewood to fuel the game making machinery. I don't know how far other EA studios have come, but DICE and Ghost (which is sort of a DICE subsidiary) have become great places to work.
bigtex 10y ago
When I was in high school I wanted to be a game developer. I loved playing video games at the time ( late 90's), why not get paid to make them as well! Then I read an article in Next Generation that discussed the games industry and then that dream vanished. After reading about crazy deadlines where husbands didn't come home for weeks and couples having conjugal visits in the office I decided that wasn't for me. Sounds like a lot hasn't changed in the past 20 years.

shmerl 10y ago

They should open source the engine and tools (as in proper FOSS), if they are to shut down. At least it won't be wasted.

witty_username 10y ago
Probably it'd be sold by creditors.

bobajeff 10y ago

"Rather than building on stronger IP like Crysis, Timesplitters or Ryse, Crytek has tried its luck with VR and free to play projects, which aren’t paying the bills." I wonder what costed them the most resources VR or Free-to-play games.

andybak 10y ago
I really don't understand why studios aren't doing VR revamps of existing succesful games. The Doom 3 mod shows how successful this can be. It's one of the best experiences out there and it's a free mod made possible by the fact the source for Doom 3 was released by ID. Yeah - the textures could do with being a bit higher res and not everyone can stomach the locomotion - but come on - throw stuff out there and see what happens There's not a massive user base but it's chicken and egg and repurposing existing content could be a great boost for the sector.
- krapp 10y ago
  Your last sentence answers your initial inquiry. There aren't enough VR users to be worth the investment.
ajsalminen 10y ago
I think the VR games could well have been "paying the bills". They're both exclusives and likely wouldn't have happened without Oculus and Sony paying for them.

BoorishBears 10y ago

Strangely enough, a few days ago someone who seemed to be an employee of Crytek Budapest posted a plea with similar contents but it was flagged... Edit: Looks like it's since been unflagged: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13140938 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13140938 > Crytek haven't paid their employees in Bulgaria in 3 months and all workers in that office are currently owed 3 full salaries. The company is not looking to pay these salaries any time soon and have spent the last few months lying about the availability of this money in order to keep as many employees as possible. > The Yerli brothers (Avni, Cevat and Faruk) are now looking at the second delay in the last 6 months (after finishing up a delay of 2 months just before the current one) and the third payment delay in the last two years. > The former director of the Sofia studio, Vesselin Handjiev, left several months ago and the studio is entirely at the mercy of Crytek Frankfurt's leadership, which has proved to be unsuccessful in stemming the current bleeding for 6 months. > Anyone who has an offer or is otherwise considering joining Crytek is advised to steer their ship elsewhere, as the current situation is rumored to apply to all studios within the company, even after the closure and selling off of several of the Crytek studios around the world.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
dang 10y ago
> Looks like it's since been unflagged Some users flagged it and other users vouched for it, which is one way for a story to get unflagged.

static_noise 10y ago

My understanding is that a company which fails to pay the wages is automatically liqudated (after someone triggers the official process and they still fail to pay). For employees it is actually problematic to continue working if they don't get paid in full.

space_ghost 10y ago
I've personally been through this twice as an employee. "Everything's fine." "Everything's fine." "Everything's fine." "We're shutting down operations today and locking the doors, clean out your desk and leave the property."

illuminati1911 10y ago

Seems weird. A week ago in linkedin they were still looking for new people to multiple sites internationally.

josephagoss 10y ago
Perhaps they are so desperate for new people that they need to hire to cover the losses?
aikah 10y ago
Sure, you can apply, just expect to work long hours for free.
thisone 10y ago
I worked for a company that ended up failing to pay wages (long story with a lot of lying and shady owners). They were hiring until the bitter end. The last hire never got paid by the company at all.
- ownagefool 10y ago
  I'm a contractor: I got hired by a company that wasnt paying it's wages. Nobody told me about it but in hindsight, it was probably clear given the churn of the employees. I started bankruptcy proceedings when they failed to pay me and got paid because of that, whilst others who didn't quite share my immediacy never got paid. I left for another company that had form for not paying it's bills and again it still had workers, both employees and contractors that didn't really make me aware until I was already owed quite a bit. I tried the same tactic when they failed to pay me, but they disputed my work (which thus requires court proceedings). Unfortunately the intermediary I was using winded up and I lost any ability to follow up the case and thus this company is no doubt still hiring consultants in and not paying them. Both companies are still around in one form or another despite having IP that they've essentially stole. On the bright side I learnt a lot about business and binned off the intermediaries.
patates 10y ago
They still seem to do: http://www.crytek.com/career/offers/overview/frankfurt/programming-engineering http://www.crytek.com/career/offers/overview/frankfurt/progr...

Roritharr 10y ago

Having friends there here in Frankfurt, this makes me deeply and profoundly sad, and angry. This seems to be the result of the founders disregard for anything but their own fame and glory. The lesson should probably be that some humility, pragmatism is definetly needed.

grx 10y ago
I just hope the IP stays in Germany. Really sad to see that one of our internationally better-known game forges seems to die. Like so many good studios before them.

ommunist 10y ago

When you achieve a certain size, you need a layer of conservative power, to keep company going.

einrealist 10y ago

Sounds like a delayed filing of insolvency.

bhouston 10y ago

How does this affect Amazon 's game engine? Btw the way anyone know if the aws game engine is successful?

petetnt 10y ago

We also had this post on Who's Firing last month: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12853270 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12853270

n0mad01 10y ago

nomen est omen

nickik 10y ago

I loved the first Crisis and the Warhead add-on, but every game after that was not even in the same league. Quite sad.