14 DAY TRIAL // Crytek, the developer of the Crysis series and related titles, has confirmed that development on its new project Warface will be handled by Tencent on the Chinese market, implying that the game might never get a Western release and is only intended for a particular type of video games market.
Avni Yerli, who is the managing director of Crytek, has told GamesIndustry.biz that, “The development of our first free-to-play online project marks another major stepping stone for our studio.”
He added, “We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Tencent who are recognised as the largest online game community in China and a world-class online game developer and operator. We believe this game will make a glorious achievement in the Asian markets.”
The statement suggests that Warface will not allow in the West any time soon and that it will aim to first create a solid user base in China and other South East Asian markets through a free-to-play model complemented by micro transactions.
Steven Ma, who is the vice president of Ten Cent, stated, “Developed by Crytek and operated by Tencent in China, Warface will give Chinese players a revolutionary shooting game experience.”
His statement also suggests that China will be the main market for the new Crytek game, which is a puzzling move for a company that has so far focused on delivering very good-looking PC-based firstperson shooters for the Western market.
At the moment, Warface does not have a launch date and the developers have not talked about when a beta version might be offered.
Crytek is also working on Crysis 2, which will see the alien fighting action move to the urban area of New York, with the player using an enhanced Nanosuit 2 and new weapons.
Here's a look at alpha stage footage from Warface: