While the rumors as to the fate of Crytek continue, sources tell us that the sequel to the Xbox One exclusive launch title Ryse has been cancelled. While it isn’t clear who actually pulled the final plug on the sequel, sources indicate that a number of factors played into the decision.

Despite being a launch title for the Xbox One and enjoying all of the promotion that being a launch title enjoys, Ryse didn’t sell nearly as well as either Microsoft or Crytek had hoped. Review scores left the game with a Metacritic score of 60, isn’t the worst score one could get, but it isn’t close to what the title was shooting for.

The game was knocked for a number of reasons, but the reality was that it simply didn’t have that engaging of plot and the combat system was nothing really new, and despite all of the gorgeous graphics the game simply lacked enough fun that it didn’t connect with Xbox One owners. Beyond being a great graphics demo for the Xbox One, it simply didn’t offer enough substance to keep players engaged.

The news seems stoke an already growing fire. No matter if there were disagreements on who would control the Ryse IP between Microsoft and Crytek or not, this can’t help matters much. With reports that claim that over 100 people have departed from Crytek studios worldwide in the past three months, we have to wonder if the reports of financial woes are actually worse than Crytek’s public denials that nothing is wrong.

While we can’t say for sure how this will pan out, we hear that Ryse 2 was actually canned in February and some other Crytek projects have had the plug pulled on them as well. It would be very sad indeed to see Crytek end up in bankruptcy. We will just have to hope that rumored influx of cash arrives and the studio is able to turn things around.