IGN: What's the performance difference of the CryENGINE on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 compared to the PC? Are you able to tailor the engine to each platform?

Harald Seeley: Yes, we definitely tailor the engine specifically to each platform. More than just the difference in CPU and video hardware capabilities of PCs and consoles is at play here. So are the much smaller memory budgets we must work with, the lack of a hard disk on some models, and the acceptance requirements of the hardware vendors themselves. All have an effect on how we approach each version of the engine. The surprising thing has been how well the consoles can perform visually, once this tailoring is in place. We expect the final outcome will result in games that look like they're running at high settings, or nearly high settings, on a PC. Actually, we found it as much or more challenging to address the memory limitations of the consoles when converting our current AI system, as we did while converting our rendering engine or physics system, which was not something you might have expected at the start.

IGN: Is it too early to think about CryENGINE 3?

Harald Seeley: Well we're always thinking about it! Technology doesn't stand still, and we must be ready to take maximum advantage of it when it arrives. One of the best things about working here at Crytek is the great relationships we have with so many other leading technology partners, who are working together with us in shaping the direction the future will take. Just as the worldwide appearance of the Internet changed everything about how we viewed the role of computers in our lives in the past, so will real-time 3D visualization change our view once again in the very near future. Nearly every industry will be affected by 3D graphics eventually, and we expect future versions of the CryENGINE to find uses not only in the latest state of the art games, but in many other places in our lives as well.

IGN: So we have to ask, when can we expect to hear what Crytek is working on next, post-Crysis?

Harald Seeley: We understand there is a lot of interest in that topic. But we're not yet at the stage where we can confidently discuss it. Too much depends on the rate of progress our development teams are able to make in the coming months for us to make any announcements, or even really make predictions about the timing of future announcements. On the other hand, one of our licensees, Paleo Entertainment, has now begun to preview some screenshots of their project, Merchants of Brooklyn, running on the CryENGINE 2. What's interesting is how completely different their art direction is from our own photorealistic style here at Crytek, yet how well our engine has allowed them to express their vision, and how terrific it's all starting to look. It clearly demonstrates that choosing the CryENGINE 2 can allow developers to unleash their creativity without limiting them to any particular visual style