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David Doak, one of the co-founders of the original Free Radical Design, who was brought back for the reformation, recently put out a statement about the whole ordeal. It’s not as illuminating as you might hope, but it does make it clear that Free Radical very much wanted the next TimeSplitters to see the light of day.
What Happened to the TimeSplitters Reboot?
In a press release from EGX at MCM London Comic Con (thanks to RetBit for spotting the release), Doak said, “I don’t think it was our fault it didn’t work out. I can’t say much more than that. Bigger forces were in play.”
This seemingly confirms what fans have always believed. The TimeSplitters reboot died due to meddling from Embracer Group. We don’t have the specifics, and probably never will, but for whatever reason, the mega publisher didn’t find Free Radical’s work ready to release and decided to move on, shuttering the studio once again in 2023.
For what it’s worth, Doak added in his release, “I think it’s really hard now…certainly the prospect of making some kind of even AA shooter now. It’s such an overworked scene, it’s so hard to innovate in it.” From that, we can guess that Free Radical might’ve been having a harder time finding something to make the TimeSplitters reboot unique. That’s, of course, a bit of guesswork on our part, but the difficulty in modern AA development certainly could’ve added to Embracer’s decision to close the studio.
