TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design has officially closed down, former employees at the company have confirmed.
In November, VGC reported that Free Radical was facing closure just two years after it was reopened to work on a new TimeSplitters project, and now, it seems that report has been confirmed.
The official Free Radical Design website now simply points to a message reading “404 Company Not Found :-(“, with the About, Careers, and Contact pages all unavailable.
Former senior artist Mark Normington also confirmed the studio’s closure on X (formerly known as Twitter), where he said he was “sad” to see the studio go.
The closure has also been confirmed by posts from former employees on LinkedIn, including programmer Martynas Antipenkovas and audio designer Samuel Hollywood-Summers.
Technically, no official reason has been given for Free Radical’s closure, and no official announcement has been forthcoming from parent company Embracer Group either.
However, Free Radical’s shutdown is likely a result of Embracer’s recent decision to downsize through studio closures and staff layoffs, which was born from the death of a “groundbreaking strategic partnership” the company had intended on finalizing.
Some of the other casualties in Embracer’s downsizing plan include Saints Row developer Volition, which was shut down earlier this year, and Cryptic Studios, which was hit by layoffs in November.
At last count, Embracer’s layoffs had reached around 900 staffers, and that figure may or may not include those who left voluntarily, like former COO Egil Strunke.
Free Radical’s closure may land particularly hard for some TimeSplitters fans, as the company was working on a revival of the much-loved shooter franchise, seemingly right up until its dissolution.
It’s not entirely clear what will happen to that TimeSplitters project now.
If former Free Radical folks decide to open a new studio, they probably won’t have access to the TimeSplitters IP, which means we might see a spiritual successor emerging in the coming months.
We’ll have to wait and see. Stay tuned for more news on this and all other things Embracer-related.
