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Amazon Dropped Big Bucks to License CryEngine

Artem Uarabei
08.04.2015

According to sources familiar with a deal between Amazon and Crytek to license CryEngine, the online retail behemoth dropped between $50 and $70 million USD to secure the game engine.

Speaking to Kotaku, the sources claim that Amazon is the company referenced early last month when Crytek announced it had struck a deal it described as "huge."

When Crytek made the announcement, it didn't release the name of the company with which it struck a deal, but it did say the deal had been in the works for quite some time. The news comes after reports from last year saying Crytek was suffering from financial difficulties.

In the report from last year, some Crytek employees had claimed their paychecks were late, and that Ryse: Son of Rome was a "disaster" for the developer.

Amazon has made moves into the world of gaming, creating Amazon Game Studios and picking up talent from games like Portal, Far Cry 2, Bioshock, and Left 4 Dead. If Amazon is serious about gaming, and all signs point to that as being the case, then licensing an engine like Crytek's means the company could be cooking up something big.

The question now is, what does Amazon have up its sleeve? We've reached out to the company for comment and we'll be sure to let you know what it has to say.

Source: ign.com