Crytek announced today that it is laying off 15 employees at its Frankfurt, Germany headquarters as part of a wider effort to "focus on [its] core competencies."

This move comes after the business changes that Crytek announced in December, which resulted in the closure of five studios. The new round of layoffs affect the team that worked on the free-to-play shooter Warface. Crytek recently announced that publishing duties for the game in North America and Europe have been transferred to Russian company My.com.

Although 15 jobs are being lost as part of this new move, Crytek said "most" of the employees who worked on Warface at the studio are moving to other projects inside of the company.

"Crytek has always sought to push the boundaries of gaming, and that remains our primary goal as we scale down the business to re-focus on game and technology development first and foremost," Crytek cofounder and managing director Avni Yerli said in a statement. "Unfortunately, one of the inevitable effects of this process has been the redundancies we are announcing today.

"We are extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication of each and every person at Crytek, and the team members we now have to say goodbye to will receive comprehensive support that reflect that gratitude," he added. "We will also be on hand to offer whatever support we can as they seek to find new positions elsewhere that reflect their considerable talents."

Last year, it was reported that Crytek had not paid some employees for six months amid financial difficulties.