Just two days ago, they revamped their site for christmas.
I don't think losing one of 3 contracts would put you under. When I see FR's website say "oops, we've shut down, kthnxbye', I'll believe this. Kotaku also posted the Factor 5 closing rumor and nothing has come of it. They also have a project with Ubisoft, which could keep them afloat on that alone, and a publisher would pick up Timesplitters since it's a proven franchise.
Just two days ago, they revamped their site for christmas.
I don't think losing one of 3 contracts would put you under. When I see FR's website say "oops, we've shut down, kthnxbye', I'll believe this. Kotaku also posted the Factor 5 closing rumor and nothing has come of it. They also have a project with Ubisoft, which could keep them afloat on that alone, and a publisher would pick up Timesplitters since it's a proven franchise.
yeah I agree wth this post
until it's on their site, I won't believe it
If the offices are closed, how is the webmaster going to update their site?
Anyway, my trust level for Kotaku rumors is really low. As said before, according to Kotaku, Factor 5 isn't even paying their employees. You would think they would have gone down by now. And apparently they've had an entire meeting at a hotel but nobody could get an actual comment from Doak on anything? The dude is splattered all over their site, it's not like he has anything to lose if he tells people they've closed.
I mean, the worst case scenario is that the grunts get new jobs at other developers, and the senior people start a new company while all of FRD's stuff goes on auction. Meaning they could just buy Timesplitters from themselves.
Bogus or not bogus?: [UPDATE] The worst has come to pass. This Is Nottingham has confirmed with Cameron Gunn of Resolve Partners, a bankruptcy-resolution firm, that Free Radical has been "placed in to administration yesterday afternoon."
"We will be spending the next three or four days assessing the financial position of the company but it's business as usual, although we have asked that almost all of the employees apart from a skeleton crew remain at home," said Gunn. "All employees have been paid up until the end of December and we hope to make another announcement before Christmas or very soon thereafter, but we must stress at this stage that it's business as usual."
This Is Nottingham reports that Free Radical employs 185 people, and it was unclear how many would be out of work.
Edit: I'm not sure how Free Radical is supposed to live through this. The only solution I think they could theoretically find would be to get a Timesplitters 4 publisher willing to hand over some cash to help out or get another deal like Lucasarts. However, I don't see why that would happen.
So they've entered into bankruptcy but are still operating.
Not really. It is the holidays so they wouldn't be operating normally anyway. Barring a miracle involving a company deciding to fun a bankrupt company, they are fucked.
""We will be spending the next three or four days assessing the financial position of the company but it's business as usual, although we have asked that almost all of the employees apart from a skeleton crew remain at home," said Gunn. "All employees have been paid up until the end of December and we hope to make another announcement before Christmas or very soon thereafter, but we must stress at this stage that it's business as usual."
Seems to me that indicates operating, they're just under bankruptcy proceedings. I'm not sure how UK bankruptcy law works but I imagine the primary goal is to not just close up shop like it is here.
It really isn't that bad of a game, guys. Seriously.
This is next gen, dood! There isn't any room for "not that bad" games, especially if they are PS3 exclusive.
I honestly wonder 9if Haze wouldn't have been shit on so hard if it had been 360 exclusive, or at least multi-platform.
I mean, it wasn't the greatest game ever, but it was better than a lot of stuff that people ignore. It CERTAINLY wasn't a pile or pure shit, like Lair.
According to one website, it is going into administration. Administration can be used to sell a company's assets.
Does that mean selling IPs away to keep the company afloat?
They'll sell everything. IPs, the building, the computers inside the building, any engine tools they may have built - hell, if they have a fucking drinks dispenser, they'll be selling that too. Everything. At the end of the process the company will be entirely dissolved, but somebody else may have the Timesplitters IP from the sale.
That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
edited December 2008
Awwwww. This makes me a sad panda. Time Splitters was the best series of games I can think of. I was really looking forward to 4. I can only hope that the Dev team sticks together to make a new title. To be fair, though, Haze kind of sucked.
That_Guy on
0
HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
edited December 2008
... So it's a Goddamn auction. EVERYTHING MUST GO!
It really isn't that bad of a game, guys. Seriously.
This is next gen, dood! There isn't any room for "not that bad" games, especially if they are PS3 exclusive.
I honestly wonder 9if Haze wouldn't have been shit on so hard if it had been 360 exclusive, or at least multi-platform.
I mean, it wasn't the greatest game ever, but it was better than a lot of stuff that people ignore. It CERTAINLY wasn't a pile or pure shit, like Lair.
It's all about install base and development costs. Nothing to do with "teh bias".
Unless MS or Sony are giving you money, making a HD exclusive this gen is just dumb dumb dumb.
lowlylowlycook on
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
It really isn't that bad of a game, guys. Seriously.
This is next gen, dood! There isn't any room for "not that bad" games, especially if they are PS3 exclusive.
I honestly wonder 9if Haze wouldn't have been shit on so hard if it had been 360 exclusive, or at least multi-platform.
I mean, it wasn't the greatest game ever, but it was better than a lot of stuff that people ignore. It CERTAINLY wasn't a pile or pure shit, like Lair.
Haze probably would have done better if you couldn't sense the "we signed a horrible horrible contract" vibe every time you saw a FR interview or when they talked about the game.
It really isn't that bad of a game, guys. Seriously.
This is next gen, dood! There isn't any room for "not that bad" games, especially if they are PS3 exclusive.
I honestly wonder 9if Haze wouldn't have been shit on so hard if it had been 360 exclusive, or at least multi-platform.
I mean, it wasn't the greatest game ever, but it was better than a lot of stuff that people ignore. It CERTAINLY wasn't a pile or pure shit, like Lair.
It's all about install base and development costs. Nothing to do with "teh bias".
Unless MS or Sony are giving you money, making a HD exclusive this gen is just dumb dumb dumb.
Look, I'm a multi-platform owner, not some kind of squibbling loyalist.
You'd be hard pressed to argue that there was ZERO bias going on with Haze. Honestly, I'd blame it on the Sony loyalists themselves, for the most part, who have a hard time not over-hyping PS3 exclusives to the point where A) there's no way that they won't disappoint, and it is just far too enticing for others to show up and try to cut them down.
According to one website, it is going into administration. Administration can be used to sell a company's assets.
Does that mean selling IPs away to keep the company afloat?
They'll sell everything. IPs, the building, the computers inside the building, any engine tools they may have built - hell, if they have a fucking drinks dispenser, they'll be selling that too. Everything. At the end of the process the company will be entirely dissolved, but somebody else may have the Timesplitters IP from the sale.
That's not what administration means in the UK.
Administration means that the company can wipe out significant debt from banks/shareholders by agreeing to be completely controlled by a third party administrator (always a consortium, government sanctioned) for a period of a year, maybe two.
Just two days ago, they revamped their site for christmas.
I don't mean to crush your last ray of hope, but speaking as a web developer, seasonal "gimmicks" are almost always done weeks or months in advance (and their activation is usually automated, to boot).
EA just closed down Black Box, and Atari shafted one of the studio's doing development on the Ghost Busters game, forcing them to lay off a bunch. Vancouver's local studios are really taking a beating.
I've been sort of watching this devastation from my ivory tower with my fingers crossed, hoping I still have a job by the end of it.
Rob Yescombe, screenwriter for Free Radical, the Rare-spawned developer behind the TimeSplitters franchise and Haze, has told ***** that widespread reports of the studio's closure are not true.
Asked the question, "Is it true that Free Radical has shut its doors?", Yescombe responded, "Nope, not true." He declined to comment further on the situation at the developer, however.
While Free Radical may not be facing wholesale closure, something is clearly going on at the studio. Reports of its demise cropped up over on a forum, with a poster claiming, "The locks were changed yesterday, and security is outside the offices not letting people in." The source, however, is someone from the Holiday Inn next door to the offices.
Rob Yescombe, screenwriter for Free Radical, the Rare-spawned developer behind the TimeSplitters franchise and Haze, has told ***** that widespread reports of the studio's closure are not true.
Asked the question, "Is it true that Free Radical has shut its doors?", Yescombe responded, "Nope, not true." He declined to comment further on the situation at the developer, however.
While Free Radical may not be facing wholesale closure, something is clearly going on at the studio. Reports of its demise cropped up over on a forum, with a poster claiming, "The locks were changed yesterday, and security is outside the offices not letting people in." The source, however, is someone from the Holiday Inn next door to the offices.
I thought the art was the least popular thing about Timesplitters? I seem to recall plenty of discussion about how it was 'too cartoony' for the hardcore crowd. Then again, along came Team Fortress 2...
I thought the art was the least popular thing about Timesplitters? I seem to recall plenty of discussion about how it was 'too cartoony' for the hardcore crowd. Then again, along came Team Fortress 2...
Is this the Halo/Gears crowd?
Because that's stupid.
chasehatesbears on
0
HerrCronIt that wickedly supports taxationRegistered Userregular
Rob Yescombe, screenwriter for Free Radical, the Rare-spawned developer behind the TimeSplitters franchise and Haze, has told ***** that widespread reports of the studio's closure are not true.
Asked the question, "Is it true that Free Radical has shut its doors?", Yescombe responded, "Nope, not true." He declined to comment further on the situation at the developer, however.
While Free Radical may not be facing wholesale closure, something is clearly going on at the studio. Reports of its demise cropped up over on a forum, with a poster claiming, "The locks were changed yesterday, and security is outside the offices not letting people in." The source, however, is someone from the Holiday Inn next door to the offices.
Well i've spoken to a guy i know who works there and he's confirmed he's out of a job, so maybe it's a case of they're going into administration so technically they haven't shut their doors yet but they're pretty much screwed.
Or they could be intent on keeping the company going in name only, so they've let everyone go and paid them for the month, but they won't fold the company properly.
i know of at least one place that's done than and then come back about ten years later when they could secure new investors.
Rob Yescombe, screenwriter for Free Radical, the Rare-spawned developer behind the TimeSplitters franchise and Haze, has told ***** that widespread reports of the studio's closure are not true.
Asked the question, "Is it true that Free Radical has shut its doors?", Yescombe responded, "Nope, not true." He declined to comment further on the situation at the developer, however.
While Free Radical may not be facing wholesale closure, something is clearly going on at the studio. Reports of its demise cropped up over on a forum, with a poster claiming, "The locks were changed yesterday, and security is outside the offices not letting people in." The source, however, is someone from the Holiday Inn next door to the offices.
Well i've spoken to a guy i know who works there and he's confirmed he's out of a job, so maybe it's a case of they're going into administration so technically they haven't shut their doors yet but they're pretty much screwed.
Or they could be intent on keeping the company going in name only, so they've let everyone go and paid them for the month, but they won't fold the company properly.
i know of at least one place that's done than and then come back about ten years later when they could secure new investors.
Rob Yescombe, screenwriter for Free Radical, the Rare-spawned developer behind the TimeSplitters franchise and Haze, has told ***** that widespread reports of the studio's closure are not true.
Asked the question, "Is it true that Free Radical has shut its doors?", Yescombe responded, "Nope, not true." He declined to comment further on the situation at the developer, however.
While Free Radical may not be facing wholesale closure, something is clearly going on at the studio. Reports of its demise cropped up over on a forum, with a poster claiming, "The locks were changed yesterday, and security is outside the offices not letting people in." The source, however, is someone from the Holiday Inn next door to the offices.
1. SPONG
2. There are a bunch of different ways to interpret the phrase "shut its doors." The fact that he didn't deny it strongly in a "WTF are you talking about it" tone makes me think that it is techinically alive but has little hope of living much longer.
3. SPONG!
Couscous on
0
CarbonFireSee youin the countryRegistered Userregular
EA just closed down Black Box, and Atari shafted one of the studio's doing development on the Ghost Busters game, forcing them to lay off a bunch. Vancouver's local studios are really taking a beating.
I've been sort of watching this devastation from my ivory tower with my fingers crossed, hoping I still have a job by the end of it.
For what it's worth, that's not actually true- they're moving them out of their ridiculously expensive highrise in downtown Vancouver to the megacampus that EAC has in Burnaby. Nobody will even need to relocate.
Some folks are going to lose their jobs, probably administrative personnel and the like, but the studio's going to survive.
Posts
yeah I agree wth this post
until it's on their site, I won't believe it
If the offices are closed, how is the webmaster going to update their site?
It's happening.
Interestingly, their domain expires in January.
They couldn't afford to renew it so they threw in the towel!
I mean, the worst case scenario is that the grunts get new jobs at other developers, and the senior people start a new company while all of FRD's stuff goes on auction. Meaning they could just buy Timesplitters from themselves.
Edit: I'm not sure how Free Radical is supposed to live through this. The only solution I think they could theoretically find would be to get a Timesplitters 4 publisher willing to hand over some cash to help out or get another deal like Lucasarts. However, I don't see why that would happen.
Not really. It is the holidays so they wouldn't be operating normally anyway. Barring a miracle involving a company deciding to fun a bankrupt company, they are fucked.
It really isn't that bad of a game, guys. Seriously.
Seems to me that indicates operating, they're just under bankruptcy proceedings. I'm not sure how UK bankruptcy law works but I imagine the primary goal is to not just close up shop like it is here.
Does that mean selling IPs away to keep the company afloat?
More likely to pay debts.
This is next gen, dood! There isn't any room for "not that bad" games, especially if they are PS3 exclusive.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
I honestly wonder 9if Haze wouldn't have been shit on so hard if it had been 360 exclusive, or at least multi-platform.
I mean, it wasn't the greatest game ever, but it was better than a lot of stuff that people ignore. It CERTAINLY wasn't a pile or pure shit, like Lair.
They'll sell everything. IPs, the building, the computers inside the building, any engine tools they may have built - hell, if they have a fucking drinks dispenser, they'll be selling that too. Everything. At the end of the process the company will be entirely dissolved, but somebody else may have the Timesplitters IP from the sale.
XBL/PSN/Steam: APZonerunner
Damn that sucks.
It's all about install base and development costs. Nothing to do with "teh bias".
Unless MS or Sony are giving you money, making a HD exclusive this gen is just dumb dumb dumb.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Haze probably would have done better if you couldn't sense the "we signed a horrible horrible contract" vibe every time you saw a FR interview or when they talked about the game.
Look, I'm a multi-platform owner, not some kind of squibbling loyalist.
You'd be hard pressed to argue that there was ZERO bias going on with Haze. Honestly, I'd blame it on the Sony loyalists themselves, for the most part, who have a hard time not over-hyping PS3 exclusives to the point where A) there's no way that they won't disappoint, and
PS3 sites reviewed the game.
That's not what administration means in the UK.
Administration means that the company can wipe out significant debt from banks/shareholders by agreeing to be completely controlled by a third party administrator (always a consortium, government sanctioned) for a period of a year, maybe two.
This is not administration. This is a firesale.
http://www.freeradicaldesign.com/downloads.php
I don't mean to crush your last ray of hope, but speaking as a web developer, seasonal "gimmicks" are almost always done weeks or months in advance (and their activation is usually automated, to boot).
EA just closed down Black Box, and Atari shafted one of the studio's doing development on the Ghost Busters game, forcing them to lay off a bunch. Vancouver's local studios are really taking a beating.
I've been sort of watching this devastation from my ivory tower with my fingers crossed, hoping I still have a job by the end of it.
so, I'm guessing that right now wouldn't be the best time to inform them that the cover art for discs 1 and 2 of Time Splitters 2 are swapped.
INSTAGRAM
What the hell is going on
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
I'm going to be super pissed if I never get to play as Sir Chimp-A-Lot or Zombie Jonah.
Is this the Halo/Gears crowd?
Because that's stupid.
Well i've spoken to a guy i know who works there and he's confirmed he's out of a job, so maybe it's a case of they're going into administration so technically they haven't shut their doors yet but they're pretty much screwed.
Or they could be intent on keeping the company going in name only, so they've let everyone go and paid them for the month, but they won't fold the company properly.
i know of at least one place that's done than and then come back about ten years later when they could secure new investors.
Argh.. I can't see them.
Why does Kotaku host on Gawker.. I always get blocked because Gawker is part of the porn category at work.
Tecnosoft?
2. There are a bunch of different ways to interpret the phrase "shut its doors." The fact that he didn't deny it strongly in a "WTF are you talking about it" tone makes me think that it is techinically alive but has little hope of living much longer.
3. SPONG!
TIMESPLITTERS 4 CONCEPT ART
For what it's worth, that's not actually true- they're moving them out of their ridiculously expensive highrise in downtown Vancouver to the megacampus that EAC has in Burnaby. Nobody will even need to relocate.
Some folks are going to lose their jobs, probably administrative personnel and the like, but the studio's going to survive.
Thanks.