CryEngine V releases today on a pay-what-you-want basis

Crytek has announced the newest iteration of its CryEngine toolkit at GDC today, and in keeping with recent moves by competitors Unreal Engine and Unity, it doesn't come with a massive upfront licensing fee. CryEngine V can be accessed on a "pay what you want" basis, which provides access to "the engine's feature-set and full engine source code". All payments that are made can be allocated for up to 70 percent to Crytek's Indie Development Fund.

Naturally enough, CryEngine 5 will feature expanded support for VR development, with the Vive, Oculus Rift and PSVR named among the headsets supported. Among the more obscure new features (well, obscure if you don't make games) are C# compatibility, advanced volumetric cloud system, FMOD Studio support and more. The full details is over here, and you can access the engine on the CryEngine website.

Meanwhile, a new CryEngine Marketplace has launched, basically a library of assets ranging textures, sounds and 3D objects. Oh, and Crytek is still making games: here's some new footage from its debut VR effort The Climb:

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.