14 DAY TRIAL // Crytek is, according to a job announcement posted on its website, actively seeking to hire what they describe as a "PSP Programmer." The background required for the job is more extensive than simple PlayStation Portable programming experience. Crytek wants the people that apply to be familiar with PlayStation 2 development and even with working on the Nintendo DS, in addition to a one-year experience with the PSP. The guy they are looking for has to know low level programming, physics work and also audio programming. Multiplatform development experience is a nice thing to have.
Such an announcement was bound to create rumors about the future plans of Crytek - after all, it was, until recently, one of the poster companies when it came to PC game development. Its hit, Crysis, took the PC and ran with it to reach a degree of graphical beauty that is still hard to reach, even with the time that has passed since the release. The gameplay was a little disappointing at times, but the game looked good enough to compensate for it.
Recently, though, all signs have indicated that the company is about to shift its stance and allow room for consoles in the development process. There's a new studio in Budapest that Crytek seems to be preparing for non-PC development, while Chief Executive Officer Cevat Yerli declared that rampant piracy rates made the PC a bad choice for exclusive development. To some, this meant that Crysis would get ported to both the Xbox 360 and the PS3.
But the company is clearly sending out conflicting signals as, instead of announcing console versions, it has recently unveiled Crysis Warhead, starring Psycho from the original game, in what is apparently another PC-only creation.
The PSP job posting might mean one of two things. Either Crytek is seriously thinking of getting Crysis, in all its glory, on the handheld gaming console, or it is considering something to involve the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable and their remote play capabilities for an upcoming and unannounced console project.