Support NeoGAF

[Kdad]

VGC reported last month that Free Radical was at threat of being closed just two years after it was established, as part of huge company-wide cuts at Embracer and its owned publishers.

This was followed by another report, in which sources told VGC that Plaion had acknowledged in a company email that the studio could be closed on December 11, following the completion of a consultation process.

That closure now appears to be confirmed, after the Nottingham-based company replaced its website with the message: “404 Company Not Found :-(“.

Free Radical closure confirmed as TimeSplitters developers bemoan ‘broken industry’ | VGC

The Embracer-owned studio closed its…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[LordCBH]

Damn this really fucking sucks…..

 

[Aretak]

Sucks for people losing their jobs just before Christmas. Hard to be that sad about the studio itself, given it never even released a game. Haze remains the game that killed Free Radical, despite Crytek and Embracer both having a go at puppeteering the corpse.

 

[CamHostage]

Sucks for people losing their jobs just before Christmas. Hard to be that sad about the studio itself, given it never even released a game. Haze remains the game that killed Free Radical, despite Crytek and Embracer both having a go at puppeteering the corpse.

Heads up to folks that there are two Free Radicals, sort of; one that's now gone, and one that still exists under a new name.

Free Radical Design was the studio that made Timesplitters and Haze and had SW:B3 in the works when it hit financial skids. Crytek picked up the remains of the studio in bankruptcy, and the survivors became Crytek UK. That group then was purchased in another financial downtime (this time at Crytek) by Deep Silver (of Embracer Group) along with its Homefront IP to become Dambuster Studios, and Dambuster had a hit just recently with the better-than-expected, long-anticipated Dead Island 2.

Meanwhlile, in 2021, Deep Silver started another company called Free Radical Design, with original Free Radical founders Steve Ellis and David Doak, in order to reboot/refresh the Timesplitters IP it owns.

Staff got mixed up through this whole turbulent period. (Ellis was in the Crytek/Deep Silver/Dambuster flow; Doak I believe was not involved until the new Free Radical was opened.) Dambuster still lays claim to the heritage of Free Radical but aside from throwing in the TS2 hidden content into Homefront 2 they have been working on new or different IP, while the new Free Radical established itself as the shepherd of the legacy (essentially Timesplitters.)

Free Radical is closing; Dambuster is (hopefully) alive to fight another day

Plaion/Embracer would still retain the Timesplitters and other Free Radical IP in this studio closure, but how active its interest (and capabilities) in the future to try a return to the franchise again will be have to be seen once we know what its own future looks like.

 

[AJUMP23]

Died in the everlasting embrace.

 

[March Climber]

As I’ve said in the other Embracer closure threads, I just hope that someone out there is poaching all of this talent.

 

[Deerock71]

If our inevitable path is chasing Fortnite $$$, then I have to agree with Free Radical. How much money is there to chase AFTER Fortnite sucked the marrow from those bones? Shoot for AA budgets on UE4 and be happy to profit.

For the record, this fucking sucks.

 

[bender]

Shoot for AA budgets on UE4 and be happy to profit.

I'd actually aim to produce titles in the $20-30 range with modest sales targets (500K-1M units) that don't chase the latest and greatest graphical tech which kind of seems like the perfect fit for the Time Splitters IP. Free Radical's former employee count (50+) is probably too large for that business model, but I do think there is a lot of room for these type of projects to be successful.

 

[Loomy]

The problem is less the industry and more Embracer thinking this was easy.

 

[CamHostage]

The problem is less the industry and more Embracer thinking this was easy.

No, layoffs and studio closures are happening on the regular this year. It's the industry, or rather it's the whole global economy.

Embracer was playing dangerously for all of its existence, just doubling down on every small bet it could find in hopes that it would get invited to the big sharks' game, and there's a lot to fault them for in their seemingly-inevitable crapout, but in some ways this was the best way to play the hands they had. They never had big, relevant names, then never had a whale-earning blockbuster, but they kept trading up for a big score that might have come through if the big wigs at the top of the economy hadn't stopped giving money away for the promise of more money later. Embracer isn't the only company to roll snakeyes recently, nor are they the only company (including some of the biggest in the world) to be over-leveraged in hopes of success never stopping. That's the modern economy. Or was, until the bills started printing.

 

[Loomy]

No, layoffs and studio closures are happening on the regular this year. It's the industry, or rather it's the whole global economy.

Embracer was playing dangerously for all of its existence, just doubling down on every small bet it could find in hopes that it would get invited to the big sharks' game, and there's a lot to fault them for in their seemingly-inevitable crapout, but in some ways this was the best way to play the hands they had. They never had big, relevant names, then never had a whale-earning blockbuster, but they kept trading up for a big score that might have come through if the big wigs at the top of the economy hadn't stopped giving money away for the promise of more money later. Embracer isn't the only company to roll snakeyes recently, nor are they the only company (including some of the biggest in the world) to be over-leveraged in hopes of success never stopping. That's the modern economy. Or was, until the bills started printing.

You are right, this is a global problem. The question that I think is worth asking, and somewhat the point I was trying to make was that a lot of those studios may have still been around if they were still independent with their own costs still low. The teams may have shrunk over the years, but they may still be around and still owned their IPs.

Part of the problem with being a part of a large group like Embracer is that when costs are way above what they're bringing in, they're going to start lowering those by closing these studios, but keeping the IPs. Embracer, like everyone else around 2020, took advantage of the inexpensive debt they could take on to expand rapidly. With the cost of those now higher, and further investments from Savvy not coming, all those studios they acquired over the last 3-4 years are paying the price.

You are right though. This is indeed a global problem. I can't help wonder what would have happened to those studios if they were still independent, and were able to negotiate publishing deals themselves, or shrunk naturally over time from people leaving for better opportunities. I look at IO Interactive and wonder what those other studios could have accomplished if they had been able to negotiate a buyout for themselves.

 

[SJRB]

Man, Embracer. Why is it almost always Embracer? The bad news never seems to end.

An actual journalist should do a deep dive on all the things going down over there since they were created. It’s unreal how many devs got the short end of this deal.

 

[Loomy]

Man, Embracer. Why is it almost always Embracer? The bad news never seems to end.

An actual journalist should do a deep dive on all the things going down over there since they were created. It’s unreal how many devs got the short end of this deal.

It's pretty simple. They took on a lot of debt to expand fast, and they can no longer afford it. They were hoping Savvy Games Group would bail them out, but that fell through. So now they have to lower costs drastically.

My guess as to why they can't just sell these studios instead of closing them is because they want to keep the IPs.

 

[Soodanim]

Is it confirmed that Embracer owns the Timesplitters IP?

 

[DenchDeckard]

There's something majorly wrong with this industry.

 

[CamHostage]

The question that I think is worth asking, and somewhat the point I was trying to make was that a lot of those studios may have still been around if they were still independent with their own costs still low. The teams may have shrunk over the years, but they may still be around and still owned their IPs.

Maybe, but I don't think so. The casualty rate of developers is high, and the work-for-hire publishing biz is practically dead. They would have had to produce and publish independently, which is hard to do in general and even harder to switch to when your company is built a certain way, creatively and financially.

Most recognizable veteran names under the Embracer umbrella likely would either be dead or absorbed into the CoD/Fortnite/etc content crafting mill by now.

Free Radical, and the Timesplitters IP, would have been dead and buried if it weren't for Embracer picking up the team and brand, clearing the rights and reuniting talent. The studio went bankrupt, twice. Rights would have probably been impossible to clear if Timesplitters had passed into the big system of dead rights and squabbling owners. Cheerily and foolhardily though, Embracer said, "Hey, this made money once, and we make games, so..." But ultimately, the end result was the same, the brand is buried again and unlikely to get a third life, especially with any of the originators involved.

 

[chessy_08]

Haze for life

 

[Loomy]

Maybe, but I don't think so. The casualty rate of developers is high, and the work-for-hire publishing biz is practically dead. They would have had to produce and publish independently, which is hard to do in general and even harder to switch to when your company is built a certain way, creatively and financially.

Most recognizable veteran names under the Embracer umbrella likely would either be dead or absorbed into the CoD/Fortnite/etc content crafting mill by now.

Free Radical, and the Timesplitters IP, would have been dead and buried if it weren't for Embracer picking up the team and brand, clearing the rights and reuniting talent. The studio went bankrupt, twice. Rights would have probably been impossible to clear if Timesplitters had passed into the big system of dead rights and squabbling owners. Cheerily and foolhardily though, Embracer said, "Hey, this made money once, and we make games, so..." But ultimately, the end result was the same, the brand is buried again and unlikely to get a third life, especially with any of the originators involved.

Fair enough. There's an important lesson to be learned by everyone here - and not just in gaming - but I highly doubt anyone with the ability to act on those lesson will even pay attention to it.

 

[CamHostage]

Man, Embracer. Why is it almost always Embracer? The bad news never seems to end.

Because Embracer owned a ton of things, and a lot of those things were recognizable to long- time gamers (even if the brands haven't been relevant in a distant while. )

Embracer owns an incredible account of IP, including stuff you'd never think of. Like, Dark Horse Comics is a subsidiary. As is the board game company Asmodee.

This is a list of just the brands that are easily verifiable by activity:

Video Games & Series​

• The Lord of the Rings
• The Hobbit
• The Ascent
• Sanctum
• Goat Simulator
• Satisfactory
• Giana Sisters
• Destroy All Humans! (2020-present)
• Deep Rock Galactic
• Realm of the Mad God
• DragonVale
• FlatOut
• Wreckfest
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance
• Gothic
• Risen
• ELEX
• MotoGP
• MXGP
• Darksiders
• Remnant: From the Ashes & Chronos: Before the Ashes
• SnowRunner
• Duke Nukem
• Zen Pinball
• CastleStorm
• Maneater
• Metro
• Shadow Warrior
• Evil West
• Trek to Yomi
• Borderlands
• Brothers in Arms
• Homeworld
• Homefront
• Road 96
• Torchlight
• Hob
• Neverwinter
• Gex
• Tomb Raider
• Legacy of Kain
• Deus Ex
• Thief
• Second Sight
• Alone in the Dark
• This Is The Police
• Saints Row
• Dead Island
• We Sing
• De Blob
• Red Faction
• TimeSplitters
• MX vs ATV
• Killing Floor

So, What Does Embracer Group Actually Own The Rights To?

What do Catan, The Hobbit, Gex, and The Mask have in common?

www.nintendolife.com

When times were good for Embracer, it was a seemingly never-ending list of license rescues and studio acquisitions. Now that times are bad, it's flipping under.

 

[Disco Dave]

They should have purchased the rights to a beloved IP, put a chick in it and made her lame and gay.

 

[Ribi]

Can't believe they scammed players and embracer scammed too. Am I doing this right?

 

[Three]

"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."

I mean, they should be fixated on game sales but if they're fixated on nothing but share prices then that's further confirmation that Embracer were more interested in selling companies/IPs than making games to sell.

 

[Loomy]

I mean, they should be fixated on game sales but if they're fixated on nothing but share prices then that's further confirmation that Embracer were more interested in selling companies/IPs than making games to sell.

That's what it is. There's been an IP war going on for a while now. Most notably in this industry, it's Microsoft securing as many as it can for gamepass. You can look at video streaming where companies are starting to hoard IPs that they can endlessly milk, and in the music industry where the same few companies are buying rights toan artists' entire catalogues.

 

[crackajack]

Whatever the plan was and whatever they wanted from them when they bought/regrouped them, Embracer probably could have gotten the license on its own cheaper, instead they employed a bunch of people for a while and seemingly absolutely nothing came out of it. Was it even in full production or was it still in a long concept phase with only a few people? I guess too short of a time span for some decent public trailer but the alpha prototype must have sucked if they cut their losses after two years.
I am sorry for individuals, but on the other side, devs who don't get their act together don't need to be supported by the suits. Even though as I read above the Homefront guys did Dead Island 2, so sometimes a studio can level up their game, maybe some new leading head there or they just got some extra time they did not get with their previous work, or they just grew with experience. Publishers have it also not easy, to select the teams that achieve something and kill those who seemingly don't.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

This really does suck for them. That being said, they've been working on this Timesplitters game for fucking years at this point and from what I remember seeing there was no end in sight. They maybe should have looked at early access to at least pull some money in.

 

[DGrayson]

As part of a consulting process lol

 

[chromatic9]

Wouldn't call it broken, it's changed as every thing does , gamers are a huge part of that and they could've been smarter like others to adapt, a line in the sand can't be drawn. Also with many changes and length of time, peoples talents, relevancy, retirements will alter the dynamic as it does with all manner of media and companies.

 

[StereoVsn]

This really does suck for them. That being said, they've been working on this Timesplitters game for fucking years at this point and from what I remember seeing there was no end in sight. They maybe should have looked at early access to at least pull some money in.

It was only about 2 years though? Even for AA development that’s not enough to produce a game. Maybe Alpha build at best.

Embracer is in trouble hence it’s cutting anything and everything that can’t make money short term. Because otherwise there won’t be long term anything either.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

Free Radical is closing; Dambuster is (hopefully) alive to fight another day.

Yeah they still around, Walk past them daily and my friends linkedin is active. They still paying for his certification exams and stuff.

 

[CamHostage]

Yeah they still around, Walk past them daily and my friends linkedin is active. They still paying for his certification exams and stuff.

Good to know. You'd hope, after recently shipping a commercial and critical hit, that there'd be no question about their standing, but business economics unfortunately doesn't work that way.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Has Embracer done a single positive thing yet?

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

So the Timesplitters reboot isn't happening at all? I waited 2 and a half years for nothing?

Why is Timesplitters so cursed? It should have had way, way more success.

 

[havoc00]

As I’ve said in the other Embracer closure threads, I just hope that someone out there is poaching all of this talent.

 

[fart town usa]

Damn this really fucking sucks…..

I know dude, what the hell am I going to tell my wife??

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

I really don't get why Timesplitters didn't have more success, 2 is one of the most pure fun games I've ever played, everything about the game was just pure fun, from the music, to the graphics, to the levels, to the bonus modes and challenges, to the girls.

Future Perfect was great as well, but I noticed switched publishers which implies the sale of 2 weren't that great, what gives? What more could you have asked for in 2002? You'd think people were better in 2002, but if they slept on Timesplitters 2, then gamers didn't know how good they had it.

 

[F31 Leopard]

Correct me if I'm wrong isn't Free Radical former Rare staff that worked on Golden Eye and Perfect Dark? Nintendo should scoop them up and create a spiritual successor to Time Splitters.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The majority of Embracer's acquisitions came during covid time. And a few more big ones just before covid hit the fan and after covid subsided. A classic case of trying to hoard up stuff at dirt cheap debt rates, which has got to be the lowest in history.

Some of you are thinking they bought them up hoping to dump them later for big bucks. Maybe, maybe not. That would assume all these million studios can churn out decent stuff. A possible scenario.

List of mergers and acquisitions by Embracer Group - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I'm thinking the traditional strategy of buying up stuff at almost 0% loan rates and hoping to fuel giant growth and profits. So Embracer management wont go toe to toe with the big companies with a handful of AAA franchises. But contend on pure quantity of games released. Similar to Algonquin Energy (a stock I follow and made money on many times in the past). When rates were ultra low, they spent like $3 billion dollars buying a utility company right before rates skyrocketed. Their loan rates fluctuate so when rates ramped up big in 2022 they were fucked, lost money for the first time in a long time and stock dropped 60% since then.

They were a steady riser for over 10 years, dropped the $3B nuke on themselves, lose money, slashed the dividend and the stock is back to 2013 levels.

That's the risk of greed and overexposure. It's like someone amping up on too much credit card debt or mortgage. It gets to a point you go under water.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

If there's a silver lining to Timesplitters staying forever dead, it's that, while it wasn't really known for it's story, Future Perfect still wrapped everything up with a fitting finale, iirc a 4th game was originally going to be a soft reboot, who knows what the plan here was.

It's something, a lot more closure than a lot of series offer.

It's not hard to theorize what probably went wrong though, everything multiplayer has to be riddled with GaaS bullshit now, so all the bang for your buck the original games offered was probably replaced with a lot of pressure to make it DLC, in addition to that, it wouldn't really be Timesplitters with the pinup style girls, which I'm sure also made investors gunshy.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

It's a shame, but what did they deliver recently?

Timesplitters 2 was amazing at the time.
Timesplitters 3 was fun, but archaic.

That's about it.

 

[tmlDan]

I loved timesplitters, how could it die like this.....i wanted a new one

 

[Iced Arcade]

Eraser group strikes again

 

[Hohenheim]

Would loved a new Timesplitters, but it's probably never happening now, sadly.
Hopefully Deadhaus Sonata sees the light of day(and please be good!) , so at least one developer (ex-silicone valley devs) from my glorious GameCube nostalgia can shine again!

 

[CamHostage]

Would loved a new Timesplitters, but it's probably never happening now, sadly.

Seems unlikely, but we'll see what happens after Embracer finds its footing (if it ever does.) An original Timesplitters, probably not, but since Plaion already went the legacy-talent-reboot approach once and knows what it would have taken to get that from A to Z, they might flip the brand some other time to cheaper foreign or even some "community developer" group. (I don't know that Timesplitters Rewind has a chance now of a legit release, but who knows what's to come of this business...)

It's not a great name in business terms, never did make a zillion dollars and the nostalgia for it unfortunately has never bubbled back up, so probably not, but Embracer is embracing these IP hoping that there's still people out there clinging to their 2000s childhoods the way 80s kids still cling onto theirs.