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Damn you economy: Free Radical Design shuts up shop
darleysam
On my way toUKRegistered User regular
On my way toUKRegistered User regular
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/free-radical-design-closes-doors
I expect some very upset people.
Independent UK studio Free Radical Design closed its doors this morning, our sister site GamesIndustry.biz reports, with multiple sources claiming that staff, including senior executives, have already left the company.
It is also believed that the unnamed project for LucasArts - announced back in 2006 and thought to be Star Wars Battlefront III - has been shipped off to Rebellion, the developer behind PSP hit Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron.
One source claims staff turned up to work today to find doors locked, and instructions to meet at a nearby hotel for a final company meeting.
Last month, when contacted by GamesIndustry.biz, director Steve Ellis denied there were any changes at the company.
"Nothing unusual is happening here. Projects end. New projects start. That's how things have worked for nearly 10 years," he said then.
TimeSplitters 4 and the unnamed project were both still in development said Ellis, as were "other unannounced projects, which are in the process of being signed."
Days later, when more industry chatter questioned the future of the Nottingham studio, Ellis said that "we certainly won't be laying off any staff today. Or, for that matter, any time in 2008."
"If something happens in 2009 I'm sure we'll be prepared to comment - but from where I'm sitting, whatever happens is far more likely to be positive than negative," he added.
Calls to senior staff at Free Radical Design by GamesIndustry.biz yesterday and today have not been returned.
I expect some very upset people.
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I guess this is mainly because Haze didn't do so well, which is a shame.
Fuckin' sucks to be him.
I guess the only reason none of the other Brits have posted this yet is because their first reaction was to go drown their sorrows.
Seriously?
One duff game, and a fairly successful developers just closes down?
That is insane. Surely someone like EA or Actiblizzard, or hell, even Nintendo would love to buy them, even if they just liquidated them to get their hands on the Timesplitters franchise.
This is a sad day.
I'm sure the economy made it tougher but their first game on this gen was an abomination.
You didn't like Timesplitters? Any of them? o_O
Your kind is not welcome here.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
That is quite insane, but have been also quite normal in this "healthy" business for last ten years or so.
Bought one and two but i didn't especially like them no. Second sight too, it was okay i guess but eh.
I wouldn't say it was an abomination. I had fun playing it. The story was really good, I thought. Just because the gameplay wasn't amazing doesn't make it an abomination.
Didn't play it for long, I take it?
I'm sure it was highly original and thought-provoking.
Maybe I am just not thinking hard enough, but I can't think of any developers that have been around for years, and own highly valuable brands just closing their doors after one poor selling game.
I don't even think Haze sold that poorly did it?
It actually was pretty thought-provoking.
I will miss TimeSplitters.. Free Radical was such a good company I thought. Someone should buy them.
"How did I not see that twist coming?!"
Wow. You really didn't play it for long did you?
I was really looking forward to Timesplitters 4, too. God damn it.
Wait, you're serious? I was teasing you and I thought you were agreeing with me, but... okay.
Well, I'm officially confused. Let's just drop it before we start a huge flame war.
It's kind of a big thing when one bad game effectively dooms your whole company.
And whether you like them or not, it's still a bunch of people losing their jobs, which seems especially bad when it's in an industry we all follow.
The problem is HD games are expensive to make. If you make a PS3, near launch, exclusive game, there is no room for error whatsoever.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Neither. Didn't it sell around 500k worldwide? That should be around the amount they'd need to break even but I guess that depends on a lot of different factors (aka, they probably paid Korn a bit for that dumb song they did).
Edit: Haze came out this year, how is that anywhere near the PS3's launch? Unless you think the 'launch window' is one and a half years long.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I was overlooking the flaws till I got to a section near the end where I had to escort a large vehicle. I had a bunch of AI dudes with me. The AI dudes were continuously being crushed by the vehicle, and continued to walk right in its path in spite of this. That's when I decided I was done.
I'm sorry to see the studio close, they really did have some talented folks there. I hope they're able to find jobs at other development studios. I also hope that Haze is forgotten, and that the Timesplitters IP doesn't die.
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
My question is, legally, what happens with IPs like Timesplitters when studios shutdown? How does it work when another company tries to pick it up, if they even can?
It's probably easier to survive when things are cheaper and there's more money flying about.
The gameplay is really generic, I will give you that. The only reason me and my friend stuck with it was because we're really big Free Radical fans. I'm not generally a fan of FPS games either, so it was hard.
I didn't think the themes were executed that terribly, but then again my favourite game series is Metal Gear Solid, so I guess I can just stomach that kind of stuff easier?
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Just about every independent developer lives hand to mouth. Combined with the death knell of a hyped game not meeting expectations there just wouldn't be any room for recovery. Next year is going to be rough for the industry. I'm currently doing my last week for a biz dev firm in the game industry and I can tell you that publishers are extremely hesitant to fund new projects right now. Hell, there not even paying a lot of the developers they have under contract.
Mark my words, late 2009-2010 will be the year of Mario #900, Halo 12, and any other proven franchise.