Crytek takes down photo mods for Crysis 2 and 3 Remastered

Crytek has once again rekindled the debate about mods in games, with Crysis 2 and 3 mods related to the photo mode reportedly having been taken down.

Crysis will always remain a memorable name within the gaming community. The series will remain synonymous with ground-breaking technology and innovation that wasn't visible in games of those times. To match modern times, Crytek released a remastered trilogy in October 2021 to allow newer gamers to have a taste of the past with benefits of modern technology.

With the remaster came the mods as many fans believe that mods can be a wonderful thing for relatively older games. While the remaster may have been a recent addition, the core games are the same ones. Hence, it's quite natural when the players devise and use mods to improve the gameplay or the just the scenic elements.

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Crytek plays spoilsport with showcausing mod maker for Crysis 2 and 3 remastered mods

Frans Bouma has made mods from several games over the years and it was no different for the Crysis remastered trilogy as well. Two of his mods would let players of Crysis 2 and 3 remastered to enhance the photo mode of the games. Some of his best works are available in latest releases like Far Cry 6 and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

On January 13, Bouma showed a cease and desist order he had received from Crytek. This email seems to inform that Crytek doesn't extend any form of licensing agreement to any mod maker for their Crysis games. The game studio was formally requesting Bouma to remove any mods for the game he has made, as well as evidence of it.

This is quite strange, since Bouma's mods don't alter gameplay in any manner. It's an expansion of the photo mode and by his own admission, he uses binaries compiled from his own codes. There is no distribution or reuse of assets and hence, and it's quite hard to understand how there is a violation of the End User License Agreement (EULA).

It's almost absurd to think that in today's world, Crytek doesn't want to see screenshots of its game on social media. While copyright is a gray area and Crytek reserves all the rights, it can deal with stuff like this a lot better. Suffice to say, such draconian decisions may often rile out the community, which can affect the sales of any game, irrespective of how good or bad it might be.