Crytek form new studio, fill it with ex-Vigil staff

The aftermath of the THQ bankruptcy left Darksiders developer Vigil without a buyer. But while the studio has been closed down, many of its former staffers may have found a happy end to the sorry saga. Crytek have founded a new studio in Austin, Texas, with Vigil's co-founder David Adams in place as its CEO. The new development house - Crytek USA Corp. - has been filled with "core" members of the Vigil team.

"I'm thrilled to be a part of the newest Crytek studio," Adams said, "which will boast some of the brightest development talent in the industry. The studio's launch represents Crytek's commitment to delivering diverse and high quality content to players everywhere."

Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli issued a statement, saying, "Crytek has always enjoyed a special relationship with gamers and business partners in North America, so establishing a permanent presence in the US was a natural step."

"We are extremely excited about the work that we will be undertaking from our strategic new location in Austin, with David Adams and his team of 35 experienced developers," Yerli continued, referencing the 35 ex-Vigil staff hired by the studio. "We believe our CryEngine technology will enable the team we assemble to create unparalleled new gaming experiences."

THQ President Jason Rubin offered his congratulations to the team, tweeting : "Great news for Vigil, at least the core team ... Thanks to Crytek for saving as much as they could of a fantastic team."

No word yet on what the USA Corp will be working on. While the Darksiders rights are still due to be auctioned off, Vigil had moved their attentions to a new IP, codenamed Crawler.

Thanks, Polygon .

Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.

Latest in RPG
Avowed art showing companions having a picnic together under sunny day
All the Avowed ending choices and epilogue-affecting decisions
The creepiest guy leans in front of an NPC mid-conversation in Starfield.
Starfield promises it still exists as silence drives fans to space-madness, but it mostly just annoys everyone: 'They are deliberately choosing not to communicate more'
Dry Devil holds a torch and grins.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's upcoming 1.2 update has a ridiculous 34 pages of patch notes
An image of toasted bread with dripping, melted cheese on top, from Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter's food looks so tasty it's apparently driving up demand for cheese naan in Japan
Dark and Darker - A player swings a sowrd at a mummy in a torchlit dungeon hall
Dark and Darker delisted again, this time from the Epic Games Store
A man shouting while waving his sword in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Baldur's Gate 3 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 show that the future of RPGs is in games way more ambitious, weird and unexpected than anything Bethesda and BioWare have to offer
Latest in News
zoomed in concept art of the Agadon Hunter, a new enemy appearing in Doom: The Dark Ages.
Doom: The Dark Ages already sneakily revealed its 'new Marauder,' and the devs hope he'll be just as challenging, but a little less frustrating
Doom: The Dark Ages art
The sickest gun from Doom: The Dark Ages' trailer is called the 'Skullcrusher' and does such horrible things to demons, the game's lead dev boasts id has 'the best gore in the industry'
Monster Hunter Wilds palico
The next Monster Hunter Wilds update is set to launch on March 10 and will ensure that when you chop off monster parts, the right monster parts get chopped off
A pack of real life Balatro cards.
The official Balatro Timeline documents the history of 2024's biggest game as its developer went from 'obsessed' with making it to 'shocked' at the reception
the next battlefield
Battlefield playtest gameplay is leaking all over the internet, and fans seem cautiously but genuinely excited: 'Okay, we might be back'
Milla Jovovovovovich pointing a sawed-off shotgun at something offscreen, presumably a monster or zombie or something
The Resident Evil movie reboot bidding war is over, and the winner is… Sony, who did every one of those other pretty terrible Resident Evil movies