Rumor: Free Radical Goes into Administration

by Shak Hussain - December 18th, 2008

Word has been spreading today of the shock closure of TimeSplitters and Haze developer, Free Radical Design. Staff apparently arrived at work to find the door locks changed and a notice advising them to attend a meeting at a nearby Hotel at 12 noon today. Co-founder David Ellis is said to have broke the news of the closure to his staff. About 20 staff members were offered positions with Ellis' new venture, Pumpkin Beach, while the rest of the employees were told in a separate room that they would be laid off. Luckily all staff members had been paid till the end of December. Free Radical was founded in 1999 by former Rare developers including David Doak, Steve Ellis, Graeme Norgate and Karl Hilton, who created games including Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark. Free Radical also created the aforementioned TimeSplitters series of games and employed about 185 people. If the rumor is true the worst news for fans of the studio is the demise of TimeSplitters 4, which the studio had been working on for over a year.