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Free Radical Design, the company tasked with making a TimeSplitters reboot, has closed its doors, according to Additionally, the developer’s official website along with text reading “company not found” and a sad face. Ex-staffers have also to announce the closure.
The company was specifically to develop new games based on the long-defunct TimeSplitters franchise. However, parent company Embracer Group these past few months, reducing its overall headcount by more than 900 people. At that time, we noted that putting the TimeSplitters reboot in limbo.
Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors addressed the closure in an email to staffers, expressing “gratitude” for the “remarkable work” the team has done. Wingefors went on to say that the parent company looks to support laid-off employees “as much as we can during this transition.” There are no details, however, regarding severance pay or anything like that. It looks like more than 50 people lost their jobs due to the closure, which is a monumental bummer.
Another bummer is that this likely means the death of the TimeSplitters franchise for the time being, though maybe another company will snap up the IP at some point. The original incarnation of Free Radical went bankrupt in 2008 before being temporarily revived to handle the reboot.
This isn’t the only company that Embracer sent packing this year. It abruptly Volition back in August and is reportedly looking to sell Borderlands developer Gearbox. Embracer previously as part of a larger deal valued at $1.4 billion.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at
Console Bang News!
The company was specifically to develop new games based on the long-defunct TimeSplitters franchise. However, parent company Embracer Group these past few months, reducing its overall headcount by more than 900 people. At that time, we noted that putting the TimeSplitters reboot in limbo.
Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors addressed the closure in an email to staffers, expressing “gratitude” for the “remarkable work” the team has done. Wingefors went on to say that the parent company looks to support laid-off employees “as much as we can during this transition.” There are no details, however, regarding severance pay or anything like that. It looks like more than 50 people lost their jobs due to the closure, which is a monumental bummer.
Another bummer is that this likely means the death of the TimeSplitters franchise for the time being, though maybe another company will snap up the IP at some point. The original incarnation of Free Radical went bankrupt in 2008 before being temporarily revived to handle the reboot.
This isn’t the only company that Embracer sent packing this year. It abruptly Volition back in August and is reportedly looking to sell Borderlands developer Gearbox. Embracer previously as part of a larger deal valued at $1.4 billion.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at
Console Bang News!