The developers behind Warface have announced that they'll be moving away from Crytek to set up their own studio, Blackwood Games, where they'll continue to work on the free-to-play FPS.

"It was a tough decision to leave Crytek after all these years, but sometimes you need change to evolve" says creative director Michael Khaimzon, who will head the newly formed Blackwood Games studio.

"It’s very important for us to focus on developing Warface in a way that lives up to players’ expectations. We have kept the development team intact, and their expertise will allow us to move forward with our plans and ideas."

The decision comes nearly six years after the game's launch. According to Crytek CEO Avni Yerli, the move will enable "a closer partnership with the game’s publisher", My.com. Meanwhile Crytek plans to concentrate on its own core games. You can check out the full announcement over on Steam.

If Warface has somehow fallen beneath your radar, you can check out the original launch trailer above or see what Chris made of it in his review, back in 2014.

Crytek are looking to capitalise on the battle royale explosion by adding the mode to their futuristic free-to-play shooter Warface. It's coming in the next update (no date is given), and it will hang around temporarily to allow the developer to gather feedback, tinker with the formula, and then reintroduce the final package later on.

Expect a large desert map and a ever-shrinking play zone with random loot—basically, it's the formula that PUBG proved grabs players and doesn't let them go. Crytek says that the map is the largest ever in the game, but from the looks of early footage (some international versions of the game already have the mode added) it only supports 16 players. Rather than parachute in, players are randomly spawned across the map.

I haven't got particularly high hopes for this one: Warface, as Chris explained when the game came out in 2014, is thoroughly mediocre. Up to now its game modes have been a mixture of Call of Duty-style PvP matches in small arenas and co-op missions in larger spaces. 

The fact that it's free means that if you liked the original game, or you're getting bored of your current battle royale of choice (PUBG and Fortnite Battle Royale are keeping me very busy), then you may as well take a look. 

Read the full announcement here.

Warface is Crytek's free-to-play class-based multiplayer shooter set in a near future world full of guns and robots. As well familiar competitive modes like team death match, plant the bomb (hello Counter-Strike) and the point-capture Storm mode, there are co-op missions that pit you and up to five friends against AI hordes.

If you want to give it a go, you can sign up for an account and download the game from the Warface site (the game client is also available through Steam, if you prefer), and enter today's competition, which will award 1,000 readers a starter pack which includes a gun, an axe and a seven-day VIP experience boost.

To enter, simply type your email address into the widget below. Winners will be randomly selected and keys emailed out this Thursday. Good luck!

I've always thought that Warface is somewhat of a strange title for a game, mainly because I can't read it without imagining R. Lee Ermey screaming in my face and telling me I don't scare him. Which isn't really relevant to the recent announcement of an upcoming Warface expansion set in the chilly mountains of Sibera, but I can't stop thinking about it nonetheless.

Operation Cold Peak will add three new maps to the game, leading to a secluded stronghold in the Altai Mountains. It will require a particular focus on team-based play, as each map is filled with enemies boasting "advanced tactical AI," along with new new bosses and even suddenly-appearing blizzards that will "change the state of play."

Crytek's focus on Warface, and on the free-to-play market in general, caused the studio no small amount of grief over the summer, but the situation has seemingly smoothed out. And while Warface isn't great, it's far from the worst thing you could do with your time, and it's free, which remains a compelling price point. The expansion will be as well, when it comes out, but at this point a release date has not been announced.