Highlights
- TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design may shut down due to ongoing restructuring by Embracer Group, leading to potential layoffs.
- Despite being reorganized as a subsidiary of Deep Silver and announcing a new TimeSplitters game, Free Radical's future is uncertain.
- At least 15 Free Radical employees, including senior artists and game designers, have already begun searching for new job opportunities amidst the potential shutdown.
TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design is facing layoffs and may soon shut down entirely. If that happens, it will be the latest of several Embracer Group subsidiaries to close their doors as part of the Swedish corporation’s ongoing restructuring.
Free Radical Design, known as Crytek UK from 2009 to 2014, is best known for developing the TimeSplitters series, which ran from 2000 to 2005. The series saw players battling the titular alien race across time periods ranging from the Wild West to the future. Crytek acquired the company following the release of Haze in 2009, and it went on to develop Crysis 2, Crysis 3, and the Xbox 360 port of Warface. Embracer Group acquired the company in 2021, reorganizing it as a subsidiary of Deep Silver and announcing an as-of-yet untitled TimeSplitters game.
However, it now appears that Free Radical’s days might be numbered. As Video Games Chronicle reported, it is one of the subsidiaries under evaluation as part of Embracer Group’s downsizing. While the corporation has yet to announce its final decision, Free Radical employees have reportedly been notified of the TimeSplitters developer’s potential shutdown.
Embracer operates Free Radical and Deep Silver through its division Plaion. UK law requires Plaion to meet with employees 30 days before they are made redundant. This included exploring ways to avoid layoffs. Unfortunately, at least 15 employees have already made LinkedIn and social media posts indicating that they are looking for work. This includes high-level developers, including Free Radical’s senior artist, senior technical artist, lead game designer, game designer, and IT manager.
Embracer Group operated under the name Nordic Games Licensing from 2011 to 2016 and THQ Nordic AB from 2016 to 2019. Plaion operated as Koch Media from 1994 until its rebranding in 2022.
Embracer Group's "Reorganization"
It’s still possible that Embracer Group might try to sell Free Radical instead of shutting it down. The Swedish holding company is reportedly also looking to sell Borderlands and Homeworld publisher Gearbox, which Embracer acquired in April 2021.
However, Embracer also shuttered Volition in August, ending a 30-year history that included franchises like Saints Row and Red Faction. On the other extreme, Embracer recently shut down Expeditions: Rome developer Campfire Cabal less than a year after the studio launched.
It is also unclear what will happen to the TimeSplitters franchise if Free Radical Design shuts down. Developers hadn’t revealed much about the untitled new TimeSplitters game, which Embracer explicitly relaunched Free Radical to make. It is unclear how far along the game is, and Deep Silver hasn’t revealed whether it plans to cancel the game outright or transfer development to another studio.
