Now that Free Radical Design has shut down, former staff have published artwork from what looks like the seemingly cancelled TimeSplitters reboot.
In 2021, then publisher Deep Silver finally announced the return of TimeSplitters, developed by a number of key original members of Free Radical Design, including founders Steve Ellis and David Doak, at a new studio set up in Nottingham, UK.
"To finally be able to confirm that the studio has been formed and that we have a plan for the next TimeSplitters game is incredible," Ellis said at the time. "While we cannot tell you anything more at the moment, we look forward to sharing information in the future."
However, in December 2023, Free Radical shut down amid the devastating and ongoing restructure at embattled games company Embracer. Embracer-owned publisher Plaion confirmed the closure in a statement that failed to mention the future of the unreleased TimeSplitters reboot.
In the wake of the studio’s closure, senior artist Alfred Turner was among a number of former Free Radical developers who published assets for what looks like the TimeSplitters game the studio had worked on. It reveals characters in the classic TimeSplitters hyper-stylised design, with a splash of Fortnite thrown in.
I am happy to say that I have been cleared to post some work from my time at Free Radical Design. Will be posting more soon: https://t.co/vM217roFc0
— Alfred Turner (@AlfredNT) December 17, 2023
#gamedev twitter, here's some work from an unreleased project i have permission to share! ?#environmentart #gameart #uehttps://t.co/Hb12QUa94t
— WillBrown (@willbrown_98) December 16, 2023
Unannounced #TimeSplitters project concept art online!! Credits to: Mark Normington (guns), Will Brown (setting), Simon Lloyd Rogers (characters), and Elmo La Mantia (computers). #Artstation #Artwork #FPS #Art #Models #GoodLuckOutThereGuys! pic.twitter.com/tshsS3xbfn
— E1M1 Magazine (@E1M1Magazine) December 16, 2023
TimeSplitters was a first-person shooter series masterminded by Doak, Ellis, Karl Kilton, and Graeme Norgate after the four left UK studio Rare amid the development of N64 shooter Perfect Dark. TimeSplitters was first released in 2000 as a launch game for the PlayStation 2, and echoed elements from the team’s seminal GoldenEye 007. It took place across multiple different time periods with 18 separate characters battling against the titular foe, creatures who can travel through time and wreck history using special crystals.
It got a sequel in TimeSplitters 2 in 2002, and a further entry in 2005 called TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. After Free Radical struggled to find a publisher for a fourth game, the rights languished at Crysis developer Crytek for years before Deep Silver parent Koch Media bought them up in 2018. Eventually, as with so much video game intellectual property, TimeSplitters ended up in Embracer’s vault.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
