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Crytek's Advantageous TimeSplitters Buy
When Crytek saw that U.K.-based Free Radical Design was in trouble, the German studio, known for Crysis, saw an opportunity.
Free Radical, the studio behind the first-person TimeSplitters shooter franchise and founded by key developers of the revered Goldeneye 007 for N64, had locked its doors in mid-December, just before the holiday, laying off the majority of staff.
Crytek adjusted quickly to take advantage of the situation, deciding to add a fifth studio to its network. Asked if Crytek was actively looking for studio acquisitions at the time of Free Radical's troubles, studio execs told Edge in a joint interview, "No, we were not actively looking for acquisition targets but always wanted to be in the U.K., the next big step for us. Acquiring Free Radical was thus a great chance for us to realize this aim."
The remaining 43 members of Free Radical ended up coming on board with Crytek, including co-founder Steve Ellis, who was previously rumored to have splintered off into a new venture. The Nottingham-based studio would now become Crytek U.K. and "begin anew," Crytek said.
Along with those remaining staffers came intellectual property, namely the TimeSplitters franchise, which in the past had been published by Eidos and Electronic Arts across three different entries. Crytek confirmed, "Yes, the major Free Radical Design IPs were part of the deal."
The FPS genre is crowded, not with fluff, but with high-quality, well-funded titles nowadays. Even amidst this competition, there has been an underlying buzz surrounding the next TimeSplitters, despite the fact that the franchise has been dormant for four years. The studio had openly confirmed that TimeSplitters 4 is in development.
Crytek, whose games have a grittier realism than the TimeSplitters series, wouldn't confirm what exactly its new U.K. arm would be working on, only saying, "The studio fits into our culture and strategy as they have a proven track record in developing great games on consoles and PC. Our own CryENGINE technology combined with the team’s rich experience is more than perfect we think."
Crytek's console plans are no secret. The company's job listings have revealed open positions for console development, and CryENGINE 2 tech has been showcased for PS3 and Xbox 360. Free Radical's familiarity with console shooters likely sweetened the deal, as Crytek had become known as a PC-centric developer.
Erneut Danke an Mocib von inCrysis. Ich finde das zwar immer etwas frech von mir, das einfach so alles zu übernehmen, aber was will man machen. News sind News.
