Deep Silver have announced that, after purchasing the rights to the TimeSplitters IP in August of 2018, they’re now reforming Free Radical Design with the intent to work on the iconic FPS franchise. The news was announced via a tweet from Deep Silver themselves.
A new Deep Silver Studio is coming – Free Radical Design pic.twitter.com/N5qTTcZfsW
— Deep Silver (@deepsilver) May 20, 2021
Free Radical Is Coming Back?
Yes, and in better news, Deep Silver have brought Steve Ellis and David Doak back to re-found the company, as Ellis and Doak are two of Free Radical’s original four co-founders. The pair are forming the studio in Nottingham, UK, and are currently in the process of recruiting staff to come and work for them, meaning that there’s been no development on this new TimeSplitters game yet.
Embracer Group, the parent company of Deep Silver, said the following in a press release: “We have more market-demand driven opportunity via innovative concepts, dormant IP’s, licenses and other business opportunities than we have the development capability to execute. Thus, the ambition is to further expand our creative engine through increased headcount, both organically through scaling up existing studios and also by adding new talented studios to the Group.
“In this context, we are happy to announce the formation of a new studio, Free Radical Design, based in Nottingham, UK. This Deep Silver studio will bring the much-loved TimeSplitters IP back to life. Key original members include founders Steve Ellis and David Doak. This highly respected team has a 22-year heritage of making AAA-products.”
Steve Ellis also added: “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. While we cannot tell you anything more at the moment, we look forward to sharing information in the future.”
What’s The History Behind Free Radical?
Formed in 1999 by former Rare developers, Free Radical Design were responsible for the likes of TimeSplitters and Second Sight, but the lack of success for the PS3 title Haze along with a collapsed partnership to work on Star Wars: Battlefront 3 meant that Free Radical would go bankrupt in 2008. If you want more details, there’s a more comprehensive retrospective about TimeSplitters and Free Radical right here.
READ MORE: Timesplitters: Future Perfect – They Don’t Make Them Like This Anymore
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