Cevat Yerli

Cevat Yerli is the co-founder and former CEO of Crytek, the studio that gave the world Far Cry, Crysis, and the CryEngine — and the guy responsible for melting a million graphics cards in the late 2000s. Born in Germany to Turkish parents, Cevat started Crytek with his brothers Avni and Faruk in 1999, and quickly became known as a visionary in pushing game graphics and engine tech to the bleeding edge.

Under his leadership, Crytek launched Far Cry (2004) and Crysis (2007), both of which redefined what PC hardware — and shooters — could do. He famously said, “graphics are 60% of a game,” and backed that up by making Crysis the gold standard for visual fidelity. He also led the development of CryEngine, which powered not just Crytek’s games, but many others across the industry.

In 2018, Cevat stepped down as CEO, handing the reins to his brothers while shifting his focus to tech innovation. He now runs The TMRW Foundation, a company working on 3D video and AI-driven virtual experiences.

From game dev legend to future tech pioneer, Cevat Yerli’s mark on gaming and graphics is still being felt. And yes — even he laughs about “Can it run Crysis?” now.