TimeSplitters first launched in 2000 on the PlayStation 2 and released three games in the franchise until 2005. The games were often compared to Rare's shooters GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark in its gameplay, as players competed in large arenas based on specific periods in history with a diverse group of characters to choose from. Developer Free Radical Design closed their doors in 2014, but it looks like they're now reforming to create a new entry in the TimeSplitters series.

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Publisher Deep Silver and its parent company Embracer Group announced today (reported by Video Games Chronicle) that Free Radical will reform with leads Steve Ellis and David Doak, who were two of the four company's original founders. While development on a new game has not started yet, the new Free Radical is tasked with bringing the TimeSplitters IP "back to life".



"We have more market-demand driven opportunity via innovative concepts, dormant IP’s, licenses and other business opportunities than we have the development capability to execute," said Embracer Group. "Thus, the ambition is to further expand our creative engine through increased headcount, both organically through scaling up existing studios and also by adding new talented studios to the Group."

"In this context, we are happy to announce the formation of a new studio, Free Radical Design, based in Nottingham, UK. This Deep Silver studio will bring the much-loved TimeSplitters IP back to life. Key original members include founders Steve Ellis and David Doak. This highly respected team has a 22-year heritage of making AAA-products," they continued.

Deep Silver would add, "This is an exciting first step in the process; development on a new game has not yet started and we will update you when we have more news to share."

Obviously this is still in the very early stages as development has not yet begun, so we can only expect a new TimeSplitters game in the coming years. That said, there's a lot to look forward to. TimeSplitters is often cited as a highly influential shooter in gaming's history, particularly paving the way for hero shooters like Apex Legends and Overwatch to flourish. The game's multiplayer, especially being based on a PlayStation 2 back in the early 2000s, was ahead of its time. We'll be waiting a long time for more updates, but it's great to have TimeSplitters back in the gaming world.