free-radical posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Crytek UK making original FPS
by Justin McElroy 
{ Oct 8th 2009 at 3:30PM }
Studio manager Karl Hilton recently told Develop that the company is working on an original FPS. While the news is good on one hand (it's not Haze) it's also bad, because it likely means TimeSplitters 4 is either a long ways off or dead altogether.
[Via GoGamingGiant]
Free Radical founder forms Facebook studio
by Justin McElroy { Aug 12th 2009 at 11:00PM }
Before he created the House That TimeSplitters Built, David Doak was one of the designers on GoldenEye, so he's definitely got the experience and chops. But if he's looking to unseat Dolphin Olympics 2 as Facebook game king, he'd better get that nose to the grindstone yesterday.
PS3 struggles hurt Haze development
by Justin McElroy { Aug 12th 2009 at 4:00PM } 
"We spent more time trying get the game running properly and less time to design the game properly," he said. "The PS3 is a powerful machine but a difficult one to get the best out of."
And no, before you ask, Hilton doesn't expect to have similar PS3 problems with Crytek's CryEngine 3. Shockingly.
Crytek: Free Radical devs doing things 'they always dreamed to do'
by David Hinkle { May 5th 2009 at 8:45PM } 
"We are providing the team a roadmap and the chance to grow, which is why we were picked as a partner, and not anyone else," Yerli added. Could such a "dream project" be TimeSplitters 4, which is what Free Radical was working on before the acquisition? Hopefully we'll hear more at E3.
Crytek's Free Radical acquisition speeds up console development plans
by David Hinkle { Feb 11th 2009 at 1:24PM }
"We always planned to enter the console market and it was part of our strategy even before the acquisition," said Cevat Yerli, president and CEO of Crytek. "This step will certainly bring us forward a bit faster to achieve our goal to develop high quality games on consoles." Before you start getting excited for a console port of Crysis or something, know that Crytek has not revealed any projects yet, though we could be hearing about something sooner rather than later. Employees there are set to begin work on a major project soon, Yerli confirmed.
Crytek's Free Radical purchase confirmed, 40+ jobs saved
by Jem Alexander { Feb 4th 2009 at 9:40AM } 
A full announcement is expected at some time later today and will hopefully include more detailed information, as it's not yet clear whether Free Radical's IPs have also been obtained by Crytek. We'll keep you informed.
Crytek acquires Free Radical [update]
by Jem Alexander { Feb 3rd 2009 at 7:35PM }
It's not clear what the ramifications of this are: While Battlefront 3 is rumored to be in development at either Rebellion (in the UK) or Pandemic (in LA), the latest in Free Radical's longest-running series, TimeSplitters 4, could still be on the table. Of course, Crytek would have to make a few changes ... there's got to be some way they can fit the word "cry" into the title somewhere.
[UPDATE] GamesIndustry.biz has confirmed via the administrators that the sale has gone ahead. As a result, 40 jobs have been saved. A formal announcement is expected later today, when we'll hopefully find out more details.
Free Radical's fate to be decided this week
by David Hinkle { Feb 2nd 2009 at 10:30AM }
Now, it looks like we'll know on Wednesday if that's to be, as ReSolve Partners, the restructuring administrator handling this dark time for Free Radical, has revealed that the fate of the company will be announced to one and all on February 4th. Hopefully, somebody ends up rescuing the company, because we'd hate to see Free Radical become permanently affixed to our layoffs tag. ReSolve has said that it's prepared to split up technology, IPs, and other assets if it cannot sell the company as a whole, or if the prospect of a more lucrative sale arises.
Rumor: Leaked footage of Star Wars Battlefront 3
by Dustin Burg { Jan 16th 2009 at 10:15AM }
Sporting a Free Radical logo watermark, a video of supposed Star Wars Battlefront 3 alpha footage has made its way onto YouTube and - if legit - gives us nearly six minutes of gameplay to drool over.
The footage was supposedly shot during an "internal show and tell Alpha meeting" that took place in November and not only shows impressive visuals, but nifty gameplay elements including airborne combat that flows seamlessly from planet-level to space. It should be stated that the status of Battlefront 3 is still relatively unknown thanks to the predicament developer Free Radical is in.
[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: 'Leaked' footage shows Star Wars Battlefront 3 in action [update]
by Randy Nelson { Jan 15th 2009 at 9:55PM }
A video posted on YouTube purportedly shows gameplay from an alpha version of Star Wars Battlefront III. Indeed, the footage -- while low in quality -- appears legitimate, with its poster reporting that it "was taken in an internal show and tell Alpha meeting back in November."
Watermarked with a Free Radical logo -- much like pre-release builds of Haze were -- the game appears very similar in mechanics to Star Wars Battlefront II, albeit with dramatically improved visuals (particularly in the area of screen-rocking special effects). Elements of note include airborne combat that seamlessly transitions from a planet's atmosphere into space, the presence of a playable "old" Ben Kenobi (on what appears to be Tatooine) and even playable Ewoks.
There's still no word on the fate of the game given Free Radical's current predicament, but this footage -- if authentic -- has ushoping Jedi meditating that the dev's work so far doesn't go to waste. See the video for yourself after the break.
[Update: YouTube has removed the video at the request of Lucasfilm. GameVideos' version can be found after the break.]
[Via GameVideos]
Watermarked with a Free Radical logo -- much like pre-release builds of Haze were -- the game appears very similar in mechanics to Star Wars Battlefront II, albeit with dramatically improved visuals (particularly in the area of screen-rocking special effects). Elements of note include airborne combat that seamlessly transitions from a planet's atmosphere into space, the presence of a playable "old" Ben Kenobi (on what appears to be Tatooine) and even playable Ewoks.
There's still no word on the fate of the game given Free Radical's current predicament, but this footage -- if authentic -- has us
[Update: YouTube has removed the video at the request of Lucasfilm. GameVideos' version can be found after the break.]
[Via GameVideos]
Chopped up or whole: Free Radical for sale
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 6th 2009 at 10:00AM }
Free Radical currently holds several IPs, including TimeSplitters, Second Sight and Haze. We're going to go out on a limb and say that corporate bargain bin shoppers are probably interested in only two of those IPs (Hint: It's not Haze).
Star Wars Battlefront 3 renders revealed by former Free Radical artist
by Randy Nelson { Dec 29th 2008 at 6:26PM }
3D artist Richard Smith – one of 140 employees of Time Splitters (and ... Haze) developer, Free Radical, laid off as the company went belly-up-for-sale – posted images from some of his modeling work on Star Wars Battlefront III on his personal blog. Or, shall we say, what could have been Star Wars Battlefront III.
The renders have since been pulled; lucky thing the internet is faster than the Millennium Falcon making the Kessel Run. Apparently, Smith was working on concepts for Han Solo (above) and a bounty hunter named Shara. Two of the images carry a game logo and are dated 2007, indicating that Battlefront III had been in development for some time prior to Free Radical's demise.
Development on the game is now rumored to continue at UK-based Rebellion, which just so happens to have created Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron for PSP.
[Via X3F]
Source – Richard Smith (blog)
Source – Rebellion Battlefront III reports aren't wrong (Videogamer.com)
The renders have since been pulled; lucky thing the internet is faster than the Millennium Falcon making the Kessel Run. Apparently, Smith was working on concepts for Han Solo (above) and a bounty hunter named Shara. Two of the images carry a game logo and are dated 2007, indicating that Battlefront III had been in development for some time prior to Free Radical's demise.
Development on the game is now rumored to continue at UK-based Rebellion, which just so happens to have created Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron for PSP.
[Via X3F]
Source – Richard Smith (blog)
Source – Rebellion Battlefront III reports aren't wrong (Videogamer.com)
Former Free Radical employee leaks original Star Wars: Battlefront III renders
by Xav de Matos { Dec 29th 2008 at 1:15PM }
According to a report on Videogamer.com, an unnamed inside source has told the site production of Star Wars: Battlefront III has been taken from Free Radical Design and placed in the hands of Oxford-based Call of Duty: World at War (PS2) developer Rebellion who also developed the 1999 sensation, Alien vs. Predator.
Confirmed: Free Radical lets over 100 employees go
by David Hinkle { Dec 26th 2008 at 3:40PM }
Well, it would appear all of our excitement over a fourth TimeSplitters game is for nothing, as the rumored layoffs at Free Radical are in fact true. The company has let go of 75% of its workforce, which equals 140 employees. The company, with its remaining 40 people, are up for sale, with several companies showing a "strong interest."We hope that what's left of Free Radical manages to land somewhere decent, because we've been fans of their work for some time now.
[Via Joystiq]
Confirmed: Free Radical lays off 140, 'For Sale' sign posted
by Ross Miller { Dec 26th 2008 at 11:58AM }
