Embracer Reportedly Gears Up to Close Another Veteran Studio
Free Radical Design has only just returned from the dead, but it looks like it will be closed again even before the first new project is released.
After June's "restructuring,"Embracer Group may close another developer: the British studio Free Radical Design, which recently worked on resurrecting TimeSplitters.
According to Video Games Chronicle's sources the team that returned from the dead barely 2.5 years ago, is expected to become another victim of changes at Embracer Group. Previously, the company dissolved Volition (Saints Row) and reportedly put up for sale Gearbox Software (Borderlands). People close to the British developer are reportedly claiming that the team has been looked at for a long time, and now employees have received notice of a possible dissolution of the team.
At first glance, this does not mean that the studio's fate is already sealed. Plaion - part of the Embracer Group, which owns Free Radical Design - is required by UK regulations to give employees 30 days' notice of the possibility of any "downsizing" at the company. The goal is also to give time to find ways to avoid such cuts.
However, VGC has also noticed that at least 15 people employed by Free Radical Design have started looking for new jobs. In the 24 hours preceding the publication of the website's article, all of them published such posts on LinkedIn, and among these employees were the studio's chief designer and technical manager.
None of those associated with the case have addressed the information. If confirmed, this could mean a second death for both Free Radical Design and the TimeSplitters brand. Previously, the studio ended its life as Crytek UK after 15 years of existence (1999-2014), in addition to four installments of the series, having delivered Second Sight and worked on Haze and, later handed over to to other developers, Homefront: The Revolution.
