After being threatened with closure by parent company Embracer Group, it appears that TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design has been officially closed
The closure comes just two years after the studio was reformed by Embracer.
A visit to the studio’s website now shows a simple message, “404 Company Not Found :-(“
The risk of being closed was first reported by VGC back in November. Now, just over a month since the news broke, now former, employees are posting on LinkedIn confirming the company’s end.
“Free Radical Design was a hub of creativity, but sadly, we join an ever-growing list of casualties in a broken industry where entire studios are treated as replaceable cogs in a soulless machine fixated on nothing but share prices,” former Quality Assurance Manager Kevin Ellis posted. “To all who lent their skills, dedication and creativity, you are the heartbeat of Free Radical Design.”
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According to those posting on LinkedIn, 80 people are now out of work with the studio closing.
“Well, that’s it, officially the final day of our time at Free Radical Design and an entire studio (just over 80 people) is out of work,” the studio’s former IT manager said. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with everyone here. There are some supremely talented people that are now in need of work.”
Free Radical Design was closed without seeing any game shipped since reforming. The company was working on a new TimeSplitters title.
What do you think of Embracer Group closing yet another game developer? For more Insider Gaming, read about why The Day Before is exactly what we thought it would be.
They never got to make a game! The company should have just been folded back into Dambuster. How long was TS4 in development for?!
You don’t need 10 different publishers with 100’s of different executives fire them! Just have all the studios under 1 publisher to supervise. Why wasn’t the useless comic book publisher shut down they don’t do anything.
Embracer keeps giving Dark Horse Comics tons of money to keep signing writers but they’ve faced no layoffs and they just signed right wing racist Mark Millar to a contract why aren’t they facing closure?! Embracer is a gaming company focus on that invest money into games instead of closing gaming studios down!
Exactly and they weren’t alone Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, Gearbox Software, New World Interactive, Aspyr, Onoma, Volition, and so many others had to deal with layoffs or outright closure. Meanwhile that asshole gets a big check from them and the company that did it faced no layoffs at all they don’t even make money.
Mike Richardson still has a job but others have been laid off I wonder why and he just hired a massive bigot to work for him. You would think the first thing to go would be Richardson and then Dark Horse they’re the biggest waste of money they don’t make any profit.
If he hired that nazi he needs to be fired alongside the nazi
How much money did the AEW game lose? Why hasn’t that thing been shut down already! Free Radical never got a chance to make single a game that’s not fair why not shut down the failures?
Yeah loses money like the company Tony has money to burn but not these guys they were stupid enough to publish his crap and partially fund it. At this point they need to shut it down if anything Tony should talk to EA about making a better wrestling game with better support and more money a good foundation is in fight forever but it just needs work and the company itself needs work with the empty arenas it hosts
What happens to TimeSplitters 4? Why don’t they shut down Aspyr the studio who couldn’t meet standards why don’t the consolidate everything into 1 company
How many other studios do they own look at what they own does it make money if not shut it down.
Dark horse better be next if they have to close something down it should be that before gaming studios especially after they signed racist mark
Dead Island 2 was a flop will that studio get shut down next? Why isn’t Plaion shut down? Plaion is an mismanaged company that doesn’t need to exist.
Instead of killing your own IP and studios why not stop your licensed games and fold your studios to 1 publisher you need them not all these messy executives
Embracer needs to seriously reevaluate themselves because these aren’t the strains