TimeSplitters is an FPS video game series developed by Free Radical Design. Currently, the series has three games released during 2000-2005, with the first game being a PlayStation-exclusive title. It is also considered a spiritual successor to Perfect Dark and GoldenEye007.
The similarity between those games is the design, the gameplay, and the development team, which leaves a sense of similarity for those who follow them. The games were unique for their time, featuring time traveling, where you must battle across different locations in various parts of history.
What Happened to TimeSplitters 4?
Although there was a 4th game rumored to be in development, it was later confirmed that the game was scrapped for various reasons. When the game was in the early stages of development, Free Radical was bought by Crytek, putting the game on hold. Co-creator Steve Ellis gave further details in a later interview;
TimeSplitters 4 was in the very early stages of development when Free Radical went into administration … A small playable demo was shown to several publishers, but it didn’t attract any publishing deals.
Aside from the lack of attraction, the criticism received by Haze, another game from Free Radicals, caused some of the issues. However, Crytek, on multiple occasions, stated that the game was, in fact, not in development and made comments such as;
Look, I wish we were working on it. The thing with TimeSplitters is, if we made a sequel to TimeSplitters, nobody would accept this apart from some fans, and we don’t know how big the fan community is, unfortunately.
In 2013 Steve Ellis further mentioned that;
I don’t think there’s any chance that’s going to happen; you always got to the point where the marketing person in the room would say, ‘I don’t know how to sell this’ because they want a character that they can put on the front of the box. Every marketing person and every publisher we spoke to [said] ‘You can’t have that as your selling point,’ and maybe the sales figures of previous games backed that up.
Possible New TimeSplitters Game
These comments further raised questions about whether the game was really in development or if it was shut down due to lack of support. It has been over a decade, and we can finally say now that there have been some indications towards a new TimeSplitters game.
Domain Registration Details of a TimeSplitters Website.A domain has been registered for “TimeSplittersTheGame.” While it hasn’t been confirmed what the official title of the game would be, this is a significant indication that the game is in development. A website is often created when the game reaches its final stages, meaning an announcement might be coming very soon.
A new Deep Silver Studio is coming – Free Radical Design pic.twitter.com/N5qTTcZfsW
— Deep Silver (@deepsilver) May 20, 2021
Furthermore, Deep Silver mentioned in their tweet that while a game is sure to come, it still has not started development. Deep Silver is a reformed Free Radical. THQ Nordic, who were thought to be the ones developing this game, clarified that they were not in charge of the IP, and a new game is “NOT YET” in development.
Here's an update to a question we get asked a lot!
TL;DR: @deepsilver set up a new studio – Free Radical Design – with TimeSplitters devs and is NOT YET working on a new game!
PS: It's still their IP, not ours. We're still hyped. https://t.co/YegCMaTSRZ
— THQ Nordic (@THQNordic) May 20, 2021
THQ Nordic Reply on TikTok.It has been over a year since that statement, and the development should have already started on the title. The only question is, when will it be announced? While the announcement may come in THQ Nordic’s upcoming showcase along with other rumored games. But since they don’t own the IP, it is not likely.
Regardless of who announces, it should be right around the corner. So keep your eyes and ears open, and let us know your favorite thing about TimeSplitters so we can discuss it below!
Here is a Similar Read: Sony Taking Action Against Trophy Farming.