14 DAY TRIAL // The Homefront intellectual property has been acquired by Koch Media, and development of all related assets, including the upcoming Homefront: The Revolution, has been shifted to the newly minted, Nottingham-based Dambuster Studios.
"Firstly, Crytek has been in extensive discussions with leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, Koch Media, regarding the acquisition of rights for the Homefront IP."
"On completion of the proposed acquisition, the Homefront team from Crytek's Nottingham studio would transfer their talents to Koch Media in compliance with English law and continue their hard work on upcoming shooter, Homefront: The Revolution. Both parties hope to finalize and implement a deal soon," a statement from the company reads.
The game will be published by Deep Silver and will be directed by none other than former Homefront: The Revolution game director Hasit Zala, who apparently left Crytek in order to continue working on his project.
The former head of Crytek UK is now studio director at Dambuster, the third development studio within the Koch Media Group, preceded by Deep Silver Volition and Deep Silver Fishlabs.
"We are thrilled to see another great IP joining the Deep Silver universe. We strongly believe in the potential of Homefront: The Revolution and trust in the new team to continue the path they have been walking in the last years," Dr. Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Koch Media Group, tells Games Industry.
Staff from the troubled Crytek UK studio will reportedly join Dambuster and continue working on Homefront: The Revolution.
The franchise has had a pretty interesting journey through the games industry, as the first game was developed by Kaos Studios and published by THQ, and then Crytek was working on the sequel and acquired the rights when THQ went under, only to sell them to Deep Silver now.
As for Crytek's future, Cevat Yerli, the CEO and founder of Crytek, has announced that the strategic deal with Koch Media will allow the company to continue working on its ambitious goal to become an online publisher, focusing on Warface, Arena of Fate and Hunt.
"The internal restructuring will also see the development of Crytek IP, HUNT: Horrors of the Gilded Age, transferred from their studio in Austin, USA to Frankfurt. Crytek will retain a presence in Austin, with several staff members maintaining the CRYENGINE support team to assist North American licensees."
"Employees who are not set to be part of that support team will be invited to apply for new positions at Crytek in Germany," Crytek says in a statement.
