Crytek

How many copies did Crysis sell? — 2023 statistics

Exploring the impact and popularity of Crytek's flagship.

Fact-checked
First Released
November 13, 2007
Genre
First-person shooter
Developer
Crytek
Publisher
Crytek

“That’s cool, but can it run Crysis?” was something people would say whenever a powerful gaming PC was put into question, as the Crysis games were notorious for being quite demanding, often leading to weaker systems not being able to handle them. Nevertheless, those who managed to run the games found they were extremely enjoyable as they provided a refreshing sci-fi atmosphere and incredible graphics. The game is a first-person shooter set in an advanced universe where supersoldiers use nanotech suits to combat government oppression and carry out missions. They are quite fun and have been popular among FPS players for years. Because of their popularity, we have prepared some Crysis statistics for you to check out and see how the series has been performing over the years. Likewise, should you find yourself curious about anything in the gaming industry, why not check out everything we have to say about gaming industry revenue?

Crysis key stats

Since the games are well-known for packing cyber punches around every corner, we will lay out all of the statistics we have in one section, going over sales stats and revenue to user engagement and Twitch views. Basically, anything you can think of.

The Crysis series has sold over 8 million copies.

(Source: VG Charts, VG Insights)

  • Crysis sold 3 million copies.
  • 638,000 of those sales were on Steam.
  • Crysis Remastered sold 164,000 copies on Steam.
  • Crysis 2 sold 3 million copies.
  • 10,303 of those sales were on Steam.
  • Crysis 2 Remastered sold 65,340 copies on Steam.
  • Crysis 2 Maximum Edition sold 935,000 copies on Steam
  • Crysis: Warhead sold 1.5 million copies
  • 242,000 of those sales were on Steam.
  • Crysis 3 sold 154,000 copies on Steam.
  • Crysis 3 Remastered sold 51,990 copies on Steam.

For all of the hype that the Crysis series gets, it has a surprisingly low number of sales across all of its games. Although the first two games sold relatively well considering the time they came out, Crysis 3 was an absolute failure and it did not meet expectations, just like Dead Space 3.

The Crysis series has grossed $36.28 million on Steam.

(Source: VG Insights)

  • Crysis grossed $7.9 million.
  • Crysis 2 grossed $186,000.
  • Crysis 3 grossed $2.4 million.
  • Crysis 2 Maximum Edition grossed $17.5 million.
  • Crysis Remastered grossed $2.8 million.
  • Crysis 2 Remastered grossed $1.3 million.
  • Crysis 3 Remastered grossed $1.1 million.
  • Crysis Warhead grossed $3.1 million.

Here, we can see how the popularity of each Crysis game measures up on Steam, as Crytek doesn’t post exact sales figures but relies on estimates and assumptions. Despite this, from the Steam statistics, you can see that Crysis 2 and 3 did not perform too well at all, but the Maximum Edition of Crysis 2 actually generated comparable revenue to all of the other games combined.

Crysis 3 and Dead Space 3 did not meet sales expectations.

(Source: GamingBolt, Metro, Reddit)

  • The two games debuted at the top of the charts in their respective months.
  • Crysis 3 sold 205,000 copies in its first month.
  • Crysis 3’s failure was attributed to poor level design, poor gameplay choices, and valuing graphics over gameplay.
  • Crysis 3’s sales dropped by 43% in the game’s second week, but it still topped the charts.

Dead Space 3 and Crysis came out around the same time and they were quite hyped for being the newest releases in their respective franchises, but they both fell short. Dead Space 3 because it turned into an action-packed imitation of a true Dead Space game, and Crysis 3 for all the reasons we listed. Ambitious changes to the way games work can be good, but they can also ruin entire franchises, as is evident with the performance of both of these games.

Crysis 2 sold 3 million copies within 3 months of its release.

(Source: Eurogamer)

  • It reached the 3 million sales mark in July 2011.
  • It beat other games like Portal 2, Dead Space 2, and Dragon Age II, which had only sold 2 million copies.
  • EA recorded net revenue of $524 million, with 2010’s revenue being $539 million.
  • EA’s digital revenue increased by 11% that year, up to $209 million.

Although there is not much information regarding Crysis’ performance over the years, when looking at the performance of the second game, it performed quite well compared to some other heavy hitters in the industry at the time.

Crysis 2 and 3 only broke even when it came to sales.

(Source: GameRevolution)

  • Cevat Yerli, one of the founders of Crysis stated that the profits for both Crysis 2 and 3 would only break even if the forecasts were to turn out accurate.
  • Console and PC sales were down at the time.
  • The market leaned more in favor of free-to-play and online markets at the time, so it was difficult for Crysis to establish a foothold.
  • The game’s budget must have been astronomical for 3 million sales to not recoup the costs of development.

Here we can see some of the trials that game developers go through when it comes to market evaluations for their games, as a shift in the market can take your game from being a commercial and community success to a mediocre delivery and a fight to break even with the production costs and revenue.

Crysis 4 is in development.

(Sources: PCGamesN, PC Gamer)

  • The game was originally announced in January 2022.
  • Crytek has been hiring staff to work on the game, with 22 open positions.
  • The Hitman 3 game director also joined the Crysis 4 team.
  • The team has noted that this project is going to be quite ambitious, unlike anything Crysis has ever seen.
  • A release date wasn’t officially confirmed, but sources point to 2024.

And here we have it, an update on the situation with Crysis 4! The game is in full development mode at the time of writing and we can expect great things if the studio’s ambition turns out to be as fruitful as everyone says. We’ll make sure to update this with any news as it becomes available.

To sum up

This is where our encounter with the legendary Crysis series comes to a close. As you can see, while thematically, the Crysis games are excellent for anyone looking to enjoy a futuristic first-person shooter with a great story, the numbers behind the games just point to a decent performance on different markets, which is quite disappointing when you consider the potential of a series like this. However, the shining light that should help bring the Crysis series back to relevance is going to be Crysis 4 whenever it comes out, as it’s shaping up to be quite an ambitious project and only time can tell what will come of it.

Sources

  • “Crysis”. VGChartz, 2020, https://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=crysis+
  • “Crysis – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/17300
  • “Crysis 2 – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/99830
  • “Crysis® 3 – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/1282690
  • “Crysis Remastered – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/1715130
  • “Crysis 2 Remastered – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/2096600
  • “Crysis 3 Remastered – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/2096610
  • “Crysis 2 Maximum Edition – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/108800
  • “Crysis Warhead – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/17330
  • “EA: Crysis 3, Dead Space 3 Didn’t Meet Sales Expectations”. GamingBolt, 2013, https://gamingbolt.com/ea-crysis-3-dead-space-3-didnt-meet-sales-expectations
  • “Crysis 3 hunts down second week at top of UK charts”. Metro, 2013, https://metro.co.uk/2013/03/04/crysis-3-hunts-down-second-week-at-top-of-uk-charts-3524576/
  • “What’s holding back Crysis 3?”. Reddit, 2013, https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/19gg7t/whats_holding_back_crysis_3/
  • “Crysis 2 racks up three million sales”. Eurogamer, 2011, https://www.eurogamer.net/crysis-2-racks-up-three-million-sales
  • “Hitman 3 game director will lead Crysis 4 development”. PC Gamer, 2022, https://www.pcgamer.com/hitman-3-game-director-will-lead-crysis-4-development/
  • “Crysis 4 development ramps up, but looks like it might take a while”. PCGamesN, 2023, https://www.pcgamesn.com/crysis-4/crytek-fps-game
  • “Crysis Series Is Only “Breaking Even”, Says Crytek”. GameRevolution, 2012, https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/4093-crysis-series-is-only-breaking-even-says-crytek
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