Free Radical Designs, which was working on a new TimeSplitters game, is one of the recent victims of Embracer Groups’s recent spree of studio closures and layoffs.
The possible shutdown of the studio was first reported in November and then confirmed a few days ago, alongside the related loss of many jobs among its developers.
Yet, not all is lost of the game they were working on, as several artists have recently posted plenty of concept art of characters, environments, and props on their Artstation accounts.
Resetera user bayonetta posted some of the art this morning, and we found out that it was featured on the Artstation account of several other artists, where you can find plenty more images.
We won’t upload all of the art here, since these artists deserve their profiles to be visited directly, but suffice to say that you’ll find plenty to see on the pages belonging to Carl Packer, Simon Lloyd Rogers, Elmo La Mantia, Johnny Patroklou, Alfred Turner, Will Brown, and Joseph Burt.
All the images are clearly marked with the Free Radical logo, so they’re easy to find by visiting each link above.
TimeSplitters is not explicitly mentioned anywhere, as the game is simply mentioned as “unannounced project” or “unreleased project,” but we know that’s what Free Radical was working on. It was actually formed to create the game in 2021 under the Deep Silver umbrella.
Unfortunately, the game won’t see the light anymore. In May this year, Embracer revealed hat a “groundbreaking” strategic partnership had been canceled before it could be signed and started downsizing almost instantly, triggering many layoffs and studio closures ever since.
Among the studios affected, we have seen Volition, Cryptic Studios, New World Interactive, and more, with Free Radical and 3D Realms/Slipgate Ironworks being the latest victims.
It’s a definitely lamentable situation born of misplaced ambition and mismanagement that has marked Embracer as one of the worst culprits of a year that has proven terrible for employment in the gaming industry. Hopefully, the beautiful art created for this game will help its developers find another place where to express their talent soon.
