“TimeSplitters fans truly lost out…”
Art work reportedly taken from Free Radical Design’s unreleased TimeSplitters game has popped up online.
As developers made redundant by the studio begin to update their online portfolios, fans are getting an inside peek at the untitled game, including concept art, character models, texture packs, weapon designs, gadgets, and more.
The images curated byThe Vault: Free Radical Archive, a wiki that “strives to create a complete archive of information on Free Radical Design’s next-generation cancelled titles” are bittersweet for many, particularly as the fate of the highly-anticipated sequel is not clear.
Art for the untitled TimeSplitters project that Free Radical Design had been working on has started to surface on the internet thanks to former employees.Credits: Will Brown, Elmo La Mantia, Callum Summerspic.twitter.com/5WFBfiVLcH
TimeSplitters fans truly lost out…pic.twitter.com/Pusfe00LY7
Free Radical was founded in 1999 by a number of ex-Rare developers and quickly made a name for itself with the much-loved TimeSplitters FPS series.
In 2009, after several difficult years, it was acquired by Crytek, becoming Crytek UK, who then sold it to Deep Silver in 2014, where it becameDambuster Studios- which made this year’sDead Island 2.
However, in May 2021, Deep Silverannounced it was reviving the Free Radical nameand creating a new studio specifically to make more TimeSplitters, with original Free Radical co-founders Steve Ellis and David Doak at the helm.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we must announce yet another difficult decision,” Plaion wrote in a statement.
“Today, we have to confirm the official closure of Free Radical Design, and say goodbye to many remarkable, talented and hard-working people.
“We are beyond grateful for their incredible contributions to Plaion and wish them the best of luck and success on their professional journey from here on out.”
As Tom summarised for us at the time, Free Radical is the latest studio to be impacted by Embracer Group’s devastatingrestructuring, which it initiated following thecollapse of a $2bn dealearlier this year.
So far, over 900 employees have lost their jobs across Embracer’s various studios and subsidiaries, with layoffs confirmed at Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, Insurgency studio New World Interactive,Pinball FXdeveloper Zen Studios, Mythforce developer Beamdog, and more.
Embracer has alsoshut down Studio Onoma(formerlySquare EnixMontreal) andSaints Row developer Volition, and is reportedlylooking to sell Borderlands studio Gearbox.
