As part of a larger retrospective on Crysis, Crysis director and Crytek founder Cevat Yerli shared insights about the famous ‘Can it run Crysis?’ meme, discussing its relevance in the game’s legacy formed back in 2007.

“I want[ed] to make sure Crysis does not age, that [it] is future-proofed, meaning that if I played it three years from now, it should look better than today,” Yerli stated.

According to Yerli, the highest graphics settings were intended for hardware to be released in 2010 and beyond. Many players attempted to maximize the game immediately, which he did not foresee as part of its initial design.

Yerli’s statements shed light on how challenging it was to play Crysis on the best available systems at the time, often leading to humorous discussions within the gaming community about the game’s heavy demands. The unique meme became a marker of gaming capability.

Despite the early struggles, Crysis remains a visually stunning game credited with pioneering various graphical techniques. Yerli mentioned ongoing developments in graphical fidelity:

“A lot of people tried to maximize Crysis immediately, and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s not why we built the Ultra mode, or Very High’.”

This approach has helped solidify Crysis’s reputation as a benchmark for gaming performance, with technology advancements continuing to shape the gaming experience.