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TimeSplitters developers Free Radical have been shut down, according to staff"It’s Time to Split."
“It’s Time to Split.”
Image credit:Free Radical Design
Image credit:Free Radical Design
TimeSplitters studio Free Radical have closed, according to social media messages from staff who have lost their jobs this week. Load upthe Free Radical website, and you’ll get the message: “404 Company Not Found :-(” I think it’s safe to call this rumour confirmed, though we’re still waiting for a formal announcement from parent Deep Silver or their overall owner Embracer Group.
“The last day at FRD was very different from what I imagined,” senior tech artist Adam Kiraly wrotein a TwiX post. “I don’t think it sunk in properly just yet, but handed my keys in and left the building the last time. It’s Time to Split.”
The last day at FRD was very different from what I imagined. I don’t think it sunk in properly just yet, but handed my keys in and left the building the last time. It’s Time to Splitpic.twitter.com/n1UGELsoED— Adam Kiraly (@94Kiraly)December 11, 2023
The last day at FRD was very different from what I imagined. I don’t think it sunk in properly just yet, but handed my keys in and left the building the last time. It’s Time to Splitpic.twitter.com/n1UGELsoED
“It’s been a great 2 and a quarter years at Free Radical Design, sad to see us go,“observedMark Normington, a senior artist. “Onwards and upwards!”
Normington had more to share ina LinkedIn post. “It sees myself and just over 80 people out of work at the worst time of year for it to happen,” he wrote. “Best of luck to all my colleagues and I wish you all the very best in your future endeavours.”
It’s all been downhill since then, however. Having spent several years buying up studios and licenses, Embracer Group announcedmassive restructuring plansin June to address their debts. The Swedish conglomerate laid off over 900 people over the summer and autumn,closing Saints Row developer Volitionin the process.
“As the sun sets on my last day at Free Radical Design, I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to collaborate both with industry legends and with emerging talents who will no doubt shape the future of the industry,” Free Radical’s quality assurance manager Kevin Ellis wrote onLinkedintoday.
“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,” he continued.
Best of luck to everybody at FRD.
