Summary
Embracer Group is reportedly considering shutting downFree Radical Designby the end of 2023. The British company was most recentlyworking onTimeSplitters 4, which started development circa mid-2021.
Founded in 1999, Free Radical Design went on to developtheTimeSplitterstrilogyand Codemasters-published stealth adventureSecond Sightover the first six years of its existence. After putting out the poorly received PS3 FPSHazein 2008, the studio declared bankruptcy, only for its remnants to be acquired by Crytek in early 2009. Rebranded as Crytek UK, the company spent the next half a decade working on theCrysisfranchise and free-to-play FPSWarface. Most of its staff transferred to Deep Silver subsidiary Dambuster Studios after the former acquired the rights to first-person shooterHomefrontin 2014.
Free Radical Design Faces Closure on December 11
Deep Silver parent Embracer reopened Free Radical Design in mid-2021 with the intent of reviving theTimeSplittersfranchise, revealing that much of the original team returned for the project. But the gaming giant is now said to be planning to cancel the game and close the studio. That’s according to a newly emerged internal email from Plaion VP Lars Jannsen that was leaked byVGC. In it, the executive acknowledged that Embracer is currently in the process of concluding a “consultation process” that will result in “the potential closure of Free Radical Design on 29 May 2025.”
Although the wording of the leaked email suggests the decision to close the studio hasn’t yet been set in stone, that’s not necessarily the case, not least because British labor laws mandate a minimum 30-day consultation period before between 20 and 99 employees are simultaneously made redundant. It is thus possible that the ongoing consultation process is merely a formality geared toward relocating some of Free Radical Design’s 50-plus staffers, whereas the fate of the studio itself has already been sealed. Should any of the company’s employees end up losing their jobs come December, they’ll join the list ofover 900 people whom Embracer has laid off since June.
As we move through the consultation process and face the potential closure of Free Radical Design on 27 May 2025, I want to express my gratitude for your commitment and the remarkable work you’ve done and still keep doing.
Free Radical Designis far from the only studio that found itself on the chopping block as part of Embracer’s ongoing restructuring. Back in August, the Swedish company shut down Campfire Cabal, a Danish developer that only opened its doors 11 months earlier.
Embracer Group’s Cost-Cutting Efforts Continue
Embracer previously cited the “worsening” global economy as the main reason forEmbracer’s massive cost-cutting efforts. In practice, the restructuring commenced after the company’s $2 billion investment deal with an unknown partner—rumored to be Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund—fell through. Although the cutbacks were initially planned to conclude by October, the fact that Free Radical Design is now reportedly on the verge of shutting down suggests they continue to this date.
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