Free Radical Design, the studio behind the retro classic TimeSplitters, have officially closed their doors for the second time. This time, likely forever.
Free Radical was founded in 1999 by the team behind GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, two of the best N64 games of all time.
If you are familiar with either of those titles, then you have a pretty good idea of the type of games that they would go on to make under their own banner.
They released TimeSplitters and TimeSplitters 2 in their first three years in business, which is pretty wild to imagine.
TimeSplitters 2 appears on a ton of Retro Dodo lists, like the best PS2 games and the best original XBOX games. And it is one of the most beloved titles in the first person shooter genre.
Free Radical was eventually purchased by Crytek, becoming Crytek UK and working on Crysis 2 and Crysis 3, two games that were major milestones in my own video game history.
They had closed their doors back in 2014 during the early stages of creating TimeSplitters 4, but were brought back for a second chance after being purchased by Embracer Group in 2021.
The last we had heard from Free Radical was when it was announced that a new TimeSplitters game (a reboot) was in development.
It is probably safe to say that the TimeSplitters franchise is now officially lost to time, along with the team behind it.
The End Of An Era (Again)
“We join an ever-growing list of casualties in a broken industry.”
Rumors of Free Radical’s closer began to pop up last month, just two years after their revitalization by Embracer Group.
Embracer Group has had major financial troubles in the past year, resulting in many layoffs and now the sad termination of the TimeSplitters reboot.
“Farewell” social media posts indicate that over 80 individuals were working at Free Radical Design at the time of their abrupt closer just yesterday.
Of course, it is a sad day for those left wondering what comes next for their individual careers and for the project they were so passionate about.
It is hard to imagine that another investor will pick up the pieces yet again for Free Radical Design.
This might be the last we hear from that name or of TimeSplitters. So it is also a sad day for fans of retro first person shooters.
