Free Radical Studio, which develops continuing Timesplitters, is at risk of closing
Free Radical Design studio, developing Timesplitters, is at risk of closing from the owner of Embracer Group only two years after its revival, VGC reported to its sources.
Over the past six months, Embracer has been conducting "Restructuring program", in which some game studios are already closed and some projects have been canceled.
In particular, the developer of the developer Saints Row – Volition and Campfire Cabal, and the Gearbox company, which created Borderlands, was closed.
According to people close to Free Radical Design, a studio located in Nottingham (Great Britain) was part of the assessment, and now its employees have received a notification about a possible closure.
In accordance with the requirements of the British labor legislation, the Plaion, the Embracer unit managing Free Radical, is obliged to consult with employees for at least 30 days before dismissal, including the possibility of avoiding it.
The probability remains that in this case the studio may remain open if Embracer receives interest from third parties interested in acquiring it.
However, the analysis of LinkedIn and social networks shows that only in the last 24 hours at least 15 people working in Free Radical have already published reports that they are looking for work.
Among them are the leading game designer, senior artist, senior technical artist, game designer and IT manager of the studio.
It is still unclear how the closing of the company will affect the future TimesPlitters, a classic series of first -person shooters, for the revival of which the new company Free Radical was created.
The first iteration of Free Radical Design was formed in 1999 and was engaged in the development of the TimesPlitters and Second Sight series. After the disappointments caused by the release of the Haze game and the cancellation of the Star Wars: Battlefront project, in 2008 the studio went bankrupt.
The rest of the company was subsequently rescued by Crytek, rebranded and work on the series Crysis, Warface and Ryse: Son of Rome was started. In 2014, the company was purchased by Deep Silver and became Dambuster Studios. In 2016, she released the game Homefront: The Revolution, and at the beginning of this year – Dead Island 2.
In May 2021, Plaion and its maternal company Embracer announced the creation of the new Free Radical Design Studio, which includes the founders of Steve Ellis and David DOC to be the founders of the company "Return to life" IP version of TimesPlitters.
At that time, Ellis said: "Finally, we can confirm that the studio has been created and that we have a plan for creating the next TimesPlitters game is incredible. Although at the moment we cannot tell you anything more detailed, we are looking forward to the opportunity to share information in the future".
Reducing jobs in the gaming industry in 2023 was widespread. This year, the dismissal affected companies such as Xbox Game Studios, Epic Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment, CD Projekt, Unity, Riot Games, Blizzard, Crystal Dynamics, Strick Distance, Team17, Team17, Team17, Team17, Team17, Team17, Team17 Frontier Development and Telltale Games.