Commissar SFLUFAN Posted December 12, 2023 Author Share Posted December 12, 2023 TimeSplitters studio Free Radical Design has closed, employees say: 'We join an ever-growing list of casualties in a broken industry' | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM The "potential closure" of Free Radical first came to light in November. Quote It appears that, as first rumored in November, TimeSplitters studio Free Radical Design has been closed. The studio's website has been scrubbed and now bears a simple message saying "404 Company not found :(," while multiple employees have said that today was their last day. Free Radical was originally founded in 1999 by ex-Rare developers, the creators of GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark. Free Radical found success with its quirky shooter series TimeSplitters, which debuted in 2000 as a PlayStation 2 launch title, with further sequels in 2002 and 2005. Although it never appeared on PC, TimeSplitters is held up as an underrated shooter of that era, with a funny campaign, arcadey shooting built on its GoldenEye pedigree, and a decent little map editor, for a PS2 game. Free Radical closed its doors in 2014, several years after being acquired by Crytek. It was "reformed" by the Swedish holding company Embracer Group under its Deep Silver division in 2021 to make a new TimeSplitters, but the failure of a $2 billion investment deal earlier this year resulted in multiple layoffs and studio closures at Embracer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal-El814 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Gaming as we know it is really on the cusp of being totally fucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks reportedly hit with layoffs as Embracer continues to cut | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM Apogee's Scott Miller, who had close ties to 3D Realms before the Embracer purchase, said at least half the company has been let go. Quote It looks like more Embracer studios have been hit with layoffs. 3D Realms founder Scott Miller (via GamesIndustry), who doesn't work at the current incarnation of the studio but runs reborn indie publisher Apogee Entertainment, said on Twitter that "a lot of people, including core devs" at 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks have been put out of work. "Several sources have told me this bad news," Miller tweeted. "Sorry to hear about another drop of the axe by Embracer Group, this time landing on Danish 3D Realms. A lot of people, including core devs, will be looking for work asap. Hopefully they land jobs soon." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxEvil AshxX Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 Jesus H, Embracer, at least see if you can find a buyer. Have a fuckin fire sale or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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