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UK Developer Free Radical Acquired By Crytek
by Chris Remo [PC, Console/PC, Exclusive]
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February 4, 2009
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Several weeks after it entered bankruptcy administration and laid off a reported 140 staffers, UK-based studio Free Radical Design has been acquired by independent German developer Crytek.
The news was let slip to consumer site 1UP by Free Radical writer Rob Yescombe, who penned the script to the studio's most recent game, Haze. Gamasutra has independently verified the report.
Following Free Radical's layoffs, 40 employees were said to have remained; there have been no indications of further firings since then.
The Nottingham development house was founded in 1999 by several former Rare employees, and is best known for its long-running TimeSplitters first-person shooter series. It is unclear if the in-development TimeSplitters 4 will be completed under the auspices of Crytek.
Shortly after news of Free Radical's administration proceedings became public, it was revealed that key studio figures spun off a new studio, Pumpkin Beach.
Crytek, responsible for the original Far Cry as well as the recent Crysis series, has been aggressively expanding its operations. In addition to Free Radical, it operates four development studios: its Frankfurt headquarters, as well as offices in Ukraine, Hungary, and Bulgaria.
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That pickup definitely makes sense for Crytek as well, what with Free Radical's (really awesome) FPS history.