Crytek sells off Black Sea studio to Sega, Total War creators

Sega Europe and Creative Assembly have acquired Crytek’s Sofia, Bulgaria-based Black Sea Studio, according to an announcement from Crytek. The studio, previously known as Crytek Black Sea, will now operate as Creative Assembly Sofia.

Crytek announced in December it was closing five studios — including its Bulgaria office — with only the developer’s Frankfurt, Germany and Kiev, Ukraine studios remaining. That announcement came after reports that Crytek employees were not being paid.

“In the past few weeks, we have worked closely with Creative Assembly and the team in Sofia to ensure that the talented staff at Crytek Black Sea would be well taken care of,” Crytek’s managing director, Avni Yerli, said in a news release. “We are delighted to be able to announce that SEGA’s acquisition of Crytek Black Sea has been finalized along with the studio’s transition from Crytek to Creative Assembly. This change is a part of the essential steps we are taking to re-focus on our core competencies and ensure Crytek is a healthy and sustainable business moving forward. We would like to thank the Sofia team for their passion and dedication and are looking forward to seeing them do great things as part of Creative Assembly.”

Creative Assembly Sofia employs 60 people, though it was not announced what the studio will be working on under its new owners. As Crytek Black Sea, the team worked on Arena of Fate.

Creative Assembly’s recent projects include Total War: Warhammer, Halo Wars 2 and Total War: Arena.