Unexpected press release of the day: Crytek, the team behind the "Crysis" franchise, are developing the sequel to addled THQ property "Homefront." Now, that's not to say that another game in the series was entirely unanticipated; THQ's Danny Bilson definitely gave the impression during our E3 interview that he wanted to see the franchise continue. This is potentially exciting news, as a developer of this caliber could really turn things around.
"Homefront" released to somewhat poor reviews earlier this year, but the game actually sold rather well during its early launch weeks. It was a game plagued with technical issues and an incredibly short campaign that didn't exactly inspire our reviewer. The game's developer, Kaos Studios, was shuttered by THQ this summer. But now the series has a well-respected team at the helm, and that certainly feels hopeful.
"We believe that bringing our level of quality, creativity, and production values to the next 'Homefront' title creates an opportunity for both THQ and Crytek to deliver a truly blockbuster game," said Crytek president Cevat Yerli in today's press release. "It's really important to us that THQ has the faith in giving us a lot of creative freedom over one of its most important properties to allow us to bring the 'Homefront' world to life in a new and innovative way."
Back in June, I spoke to Danny Bilson about the future of some of THQ's properties, including "Homefront." I could tell during our discussion that Bilson actually cared about the property quite a bit, and it seemed as though he genuinely wanted to see the series succeed.
"We learned a lot from that game; we don't just keep crashing the same car around here," Bilson said at E3 this year. "Any other parts of [Homefront] that might have been weak, we're going to shore up if we do it again."
Hiring a top company like Crytek is definitely a step in the right direction. The "Homefront" sequel is currently slated for 2014.