Crytek Releasing CryEngine 3 SDK, Crysis 2 Editor

Editor coming early summer, SDK in August.

Crytek wants to see what modders can do with CryEngine 3, and aspiring designers will have the chance to accept the challenge when the engine's free software development kit launches in August. Until then, modders can get a small sample of the development kit in action with the Crysis 2 Editor.

Posting on the CryMod forums, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli broke the news, stating that though the studio has been knee deep in Crysis 2, it hasn't forgotten about its beloved modding community.

"We want to see what you guys can do with CryEngine 3 and we hope we'll be as amazed with the things you create as we have been over the past few years," Yerli stated. "This time around, we're going to do things in a different way -- offering you the right tools to achieve your vision."

First comes the Crysis 2 Editor, which will allow fans to build new maps, items, and custom content for the sci-fi FPS. No specific release date for the Editor was announced, but Yerli said to expect it in "early summer."

Then, in August, Crytek will release the CryEngine 3 SDK to the world for free, giving modders the same engine Crytek uses internally. C++ code access, content exporters, shader code, game sample code from Crysis 2, script samples, and asset examples will all be included, giving aspiring designers the tools to build a complete game from the ground up. And if you come up with something special, Crytek wants to know about it.

"If you want to use it to make a game to launch commercially, we'd like to help you with that," Yerli stated. "If you want to take your product down a traditional commercial route, we will offer an innovative low cost licensing model if you want to release your game digitally."

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