Multiple sources report that Crytek has been having a hard time paying its employees for the last few months.
Word started to get out last Friday when an anonymous user posted an image on imgur with the title "CRYTEK hasn't paid me (or my coworkers) for almost 6 months. HELP!" The post alleges that he and his coworkers in the German office (and possibly worldwide) haven't been paid for 6 months now and they have no money to return to their hometowns. It also claims that this has been happening repeatedly for a long time now without any explanation from management.
"The brothers had a meeting a few months ago and assured everyone that the issue was finally fixed and there should be no more problems. That is not the case. People are still working without pay. This isn’t just here in Germany, this is in all of our offices as far as I can tell.
… I am posting on imgur as a last resort with hopes that this post goes viral and forces those on top to address the issues."
Similar claims were made 2 years ago when reports surfaced indicating that Crytek was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2014. Back then, the company refuted those allegations promptly despite reports about massive departures from the UK branch. This time however the company is keeping its mouth shut and refusing to reply to any of the numerous press questions.
The anonymous employee's allegations have since been confirmed by a current Crytek employee known and trusted by Kotaku.
It looks like Crytek has bit off more than it could chew in 2016. During the year, the company switched its famous CryEngine tech to pay-what-you-want model, developed a standalone film engine for the movie industry and ventured into virtual reality development.
