Free Radical Design, the Nottingham, UK-based studio that had been working on a revival of the PS2-era TimeSplitters franchise, has shut down. “Today, we have to confirm the official closure of Free Radical Design, and say goodbye to many remarkable, talented and hard-working people,” parent company Plaion posted on LinkedIn. “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.”
In its current form, Free Radical Design dates back to 2021 when it was announced that a new studio had been set up to “bring the TimeSplitters franchise back to life” under the ultimate umbrella of the rapidly expanding Embracer Group (the new Free Radical Design was a subsidiary of Deep Silver, which was a subsidiary of Plaion, which was itself a subsidiary of Embracer Group). Series creators Steve Ellis and David Doak were brought on board to help with the revival.
This is the second time Free Radical has closed its doors. In its original form, the company was founded by several developers who’d worked for Rare on GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, and the studio would produce a trilogy of acclaimed PS2-era TimeSplitters games. But after the release of the studio’s poorly received PS3 exclusive Haze and the cancellation of its Star Wars: Battlefront project, Free Radical Design went bankrupt in 2008. It would go on to be sold to Crytek and rebranded as Crytek UK, which effectively shut up shop in 2014.
Reports that the revived Free Radical could be impacted by Embracer’s financial difficulties emerged in early November, when VGC reported that employees were notified that the studio could close.
Update December 12th, 10:25AM ET: Updated with Plaion’s confirmation that the studio has closed.
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