Online rumors claim that a sequel to the 2013 Xbox One launch game Ryse: Son of Rome has now been cancelled, reportedly due to issues between the game's developer Crytek and publisher Microsoft over the rights to the franchise.
The reports, which come via unnamed sources, claim that pre-production of Ryse 2 was slated to begin but Microsoft said they would only fund its development if they could buy the Ryse IP from Crytek. That is apparently something that the developer did not wish to give up. A Microsoft spokesperson has been quoted as saying the company has "nothing to announce about the future of the franchise at this time."
This rumor has been combined with other unconfirmed reports about Crytek not paying many of its employees on time, along with many workers deciding to depart its studios located around the world. A few weeks ago, Crytek announced plans to release the first person shooter sequel Homefront 2 in 2015.
Ryse was in development at Crytek for a long time. Indeed, it was first announced in 2010 as an Xbox 360 Kinect exclusive with the title Codename Kingdoms. Crytek and Microsoft later converted the game to an exclusive for the Xbox One's launch, but the reviews of the third party action game were mixed when it was finally released.