Crysis Warhead Runs Smoothly at High on $620 PC, Claims Crytek; Tweaks Could Hit First Crysis

Optimizations made to Crytek's CryENGINE 2 will allow the upcoming sci-fi shooter follow up Crysis Warhead to run smoothly with high detail settings on cheap PCs, studio CEO Cevat Yerli has claimed.

Specifically, Yerli told German outlet PC Games that a 400 euro (roughly $620) PC could run the title, with high settings enabled, at 30 to 35 frames per second. Curiously, he did not detail the resolution at which this is possible.

Despite having stopped patch support for the original Crysis (PC), Yerli said these optimizations could eventually make their to the first game. "That will take a long time, because the fixes are fairly profound," he noted. "We are still in the process of the steps, but first we want to conclude Warhead."

Though even the latest video cards can't provide a smooth framerate for Crysis at high resolutions with very high detail settings, Crytek is confident that the game's system requirements did not affect sales.

"Other's lower perceived hardware requirements did not actually translate to bigger overall sales numbers than Crysis,"business manager Harald Seeley explained earlier this month. "You only have to look at the comparative PC sales volumes of other prominent FPS games which shipped around the same time."

Due out this fall, Crysis Warhead marks the last of Crytek's PC-exclusive titles because of piracy woes and the likelihood of higher sales on consoles. In addition to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the company is apparently investigating PSP development.