Crytek, EA confirm development of Crysis Warhead

Gamers who liked the original Crysis now can look forward to Crysis Warhead, currently in development by Crytek and Electronic Arts.

Building off the success of Crysis, Crytek and Electronic Arts publicly announced the development of Crysis Warhead, the second installment of the groundbreaking graphics-packed juggernaut launched in 2007. It's not an add-on but an entirely new game, with an expected release date for the 2008 holiday shopping season.

Crysis Warhead runs parallel to the original Crysis, but players will play as Delta Force Sergeant "Psycho" Skyes, rather than Nomad, the hero of the original. The new game takes place on the other side of the island and will feature new weapons, vehicles, and additional multiplayer content not available in the first game.

In similar fashion to the first game, Skyes will wander around the island wearing a special nanosuit for protection, which gives him other benefits such as speed, cloaking, and adaptability. In the original, the nanosuit has the ability to raise or lower Nomad's core body temperature depending on the environment.

Although no details were publicly given, Crytek promised new multiplayer content that will offer gamers a new way to enjoy the video game online. The game is expected to offer impressive eye candy, allowing gamers a certain level of freedom to get lost while completing missions.

Crysis Warhead will be built upon a heavily modified version of the CryEngine 2 game engine infrastructure, and is the first game title being developed by the Crytek Budapest studio. Due to frustration over lower sales numbers and higher rates of piracy, Crysis Warhead for game consoles may end up being postponed until well after its PC release. Crytek President and CEO Cevat Yali previously stated the game studio will no longer release any more PC exclusive titles moving forward, with each title to be released for at least one console.

According to an EA earnings conference call in late January, EA and Crytek have sold more than one million copies of Crysis worldwide.