Crytek CEO asks GDC audience to kill 'killerspiel' law, won't leave Germany unless forced out

During his keynote address at GDC Europe in Cologne, Germany, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli requested the audience support the petition against the host-country's bill, which is seeking to ban any games in the region "where the main part is to realistically play the killing of people or other cruel or un-human acts of violence against humans or manlike characters." Yerli told the audience toward the conclusion of his presentation: "[This law] means that Crytek will be literally forced out of the country."

Yerli's tone about the German law was more serious than his previous statement on the subject, so we caught up with him after the keynote. We asked if he's threatening to leave the country if the law passes, or if he thinks the company will be pushed out. He told us, "This is the point, two or three years ago we were thinking 'What is this?' This is like disrespecting our company.' We said we will not change our strategy. Today we think we are literally forced to make a change."

It appears that Yerli still isn't looking to change Crytek's direction, despite the government threats. And it appears he really doesn't want to move, telling us, "If you move a company, you think of it as: let's move the company strategically, so we get more benefit out of this country. But moving it because a law comes in is too reactive for us. We're not thinking of moving unless the law happens."