Crytek Helps Free Radical Realize Their Dreams
How did Crytek get picked to purchase Free Radical over the various other companies vying for a piece of the floundering studio? By harnessing the power of dreams.
Crytek purchased the TimeSplitters developer in February, following a period of reorganising that resulted in the layoff of 140 employees. In an interview with Develop, CEO Cevat Yerli explains that Crytek was picked to purchase the failing Free Radical because they offered the remaining staff the opportunity to create the sort of games they’ve always wanted to create.
“We are working with Free Radical on things that they always dreamed to do” Yerli said. “We are providing the team a roadmap and the chance to grow, which is why we were picked as a partner, and not anyone else.”
Hopefully those dreams include finishing TimeSplitters 4.
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Virus Tag anybody?!
its nice to play Timesplitter again it was the best multiplayer fps in the ps2 for me, and for haze com'n guy it wasn't that bad :p
nah whose im kidding it was bad really bad
im glad that crytek was the one who saved thier ass XD not EA
i will be waiting for ts4
Khalid Jalal
@InconspicuouslyConspicuous:
I think part of the reason FRD went belly up is that they lost the contract for BF, unless I'm mistaken.
@Mike Newlad: Unless there is some industrial sized milker involved there is no wrong way to suck balls.
D-K, Came for the punch, stayed for the band-aid
YES!
@Kenny: My bad, i was probably blindsighted by the rushing mass of fans desperately hogging your thread. How can some big hair halfhot chick go all serious-solo-rock-face and have it sound like a neutered fisher-price keyboard.
Whatever reasons you have listed that earn this band a place in the kick-ass catagory, they are faulty.
You sir, lack taste.
*gloveslap*
D-K, Came for the punch, stayed for the band-aid
@D-K, Came for the punch, stayed for the band-aid: What the shittysticks dude, go choke on your dads slippers. How dare you criticize the monkeys armor design (or mech-suit depending on who you ask).
Hey, you asked for RAGE!
@silentknome: I get why you are down on Haze but in their defense the concept behind Haze fucking rocked. I ate it up big time and even after seeing the terrible reviews I had to get me some of it.
They got a roar deal too because the game should have come out on the PS2 and xbox. It was in development 4 years but the spec's for the PS3 weren't even announced for half of that.
Can you imagine Haze's concept's running on the newest CryEngine. I actually wrote about that on here last year and I for one hope they do it. Killzone 1 sucked balls right.
Mike Newlad
@D-K, Came for the punch, stayed for the band-aid: Fuck you, Heart kicks ass.
Wow...imagine Time Splitters 4 running on CryEngine tech...
@InconspicuouslyConspicuous: My thoughts exactly, just played some Battlefront 2 on the original Xbox with a friend online, that game needs some current gen treatment, stat! Seriously, I have been spoiled to hell with Live party chat and the in game guide for friends and message management, it always sucks to lose all that when I go backwards compat.
@nailpipe: Lord of the rings is like battlefront...and i say that with a straight face.. Hell, i practiced
D-K, Came for the punch, stayed for the band-aid
@Kenny: That, is terrible, terrible music. And not the "let's poke fun it's corny kind"
D-K, Came for the punch, stayed for the band-aid
@ph15h was here... possibly: Is that PhD the RAGE engine? Or a PhD in Streets of Rage?
I have a PhD in Rage. Against The Machine.
@jawshoeuh: It's not armor if he's driving it. Therefore it is a mech-suit or MIV.
Remember this as the day, semantics got the best of you.
D-K, Came for the punch, stayed for the band-aid
Yeah Timesplitters, cool, whatever. I still hold out hope that Battlefront will somehow rise from the ashes...someday.
nailpipe
@Ackers: both you guys can f off! no one questions sir chimpalot's armor!
I really hope those dreams include TimeSplitters 4 too.
Hopefully none of their dreams includes Haze 2.
arniejolt
Will you be able to jump in Timesplitters finally? The last games have not been my cup of tea with the exception of Second Sight. That was a fun game.
Hey... it doesn't have to be Timesplitters 4 but any fps with that FPS engine is FTW in my book. You can't really beat 60 frames per second and loads of offline madness.
@D-K, taking the fun out of funeral He actually loves Halo 3 and KZ2 IIRC.
@Archaotic: Lies. You have a PhD in RAGE.:
this sounds promising, although personally i am not a fan of Crytek's games at all. their technology and funding, though? of course. i think some great things could come out of this, particularly if Timesplitters 4 does get finished.
@Archaotic: Meh calm is overrated. I long for the good ol' times when calling someone fickle was reason enough to bust out the oversized novelty cotton-swab and rush into battle.
This was long ago though...somewhere between yore and yonder.. those where the days..
@D-K, taking the fun out of funeral: yeh it just doesnt seem right...:-P the monkey is perfectly fine though - no 2 ways about it
Ackers
@D-K, taking the fun out of funeral:
Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually a much calmer person than you might think.
@D-K, taking the fun out of funeral: cough...consider my last (too slow written) post, unposted.
That is all.
@willy626:
Yeah, all the little things. Some of my friends and I were playing, I don't remember which one co-op when we stumbled into the Anaconda mini-game.
I'm pretty sure we spent at least an hour or two just playing that.
@Archaotic: I called you fickle!! I did!! and yet you ignore my post, rendering my provocative way of writing useless... it's no fair, you must flame, flex your e-penis or nerdrage. This mahatma thing you got going is not the ways of interwebz at all.. I crave confrontation! Quench my thirst for discussion Archaotic!!
I DEMAND SATISFACTION *gloveslap*
Please don't make Time Splitters 4.
Just so that some people go ape shit. Please, I'm begging you Crytek. Lemme have teh lulz. Your dearest fan, Pamela!
BarbeQueQ
@dreadnought666:
I'm a writer, I work from home at the moment. Hence why I'm on here so often. Believe me, I'd much rather NOT be posting as often as I do. It's hard to find stable work here in Boston though.
Good. A team like free radical deserves full artistic freedom.
ShirleyTemple
Timesplitters, the best split screen FPS series ever. It had everything you could want. Lots of weapons, lots of bots, level editor, and lots of characters!
silentknome
@D-K, taking the fun out of funeral:
TimeSplitters is about as far from a generic FPS as humanly possible. Which is exactly why I like it. It's silly, it's stupid, it doesn't take itself seriously, and it's totally self-aware. It's actually FUN.
@Archaotic: Off topic, and I hope I don't come off as sounding like a dick because I dont' mean to be, but what do you (you being Archaotic) besides post on Kotaku as quickly as humanly possible on every single article. Seriously dude, WTF?
They're going to help them realize thousands of square feet covered in thick forests and foliage.
Paradox me
@Winterbringer: Its no surprise it sucked. I mean c'mon, no 4 player split screen play, no level editor, lack of weapons and game modes killed it. SIngle player sucked hard but that wasn't much of a surprise since the story modes in the timesplitter games sucked anyways
silentknome
@Archaotic: We can cry together if it doesn't get released.
Please Crytek, let them finish TimeSplitters 4. Please.
Love,
The Universe.
PRAISE THE LORD
@willy626:
Exactly. For someone like myself who hates the increasing trends of hyper-realism and overly serious FPS games with stories as thin as tissue paper, TimeSplitters is a welcome change of pace in every regard.
Wouldn't mind seeing their vision for Battlefront 3 get finished as well, but knowing LucasArts, they'll fuck it up somehow.
@Archaotic: No longer craving rpg's then? No more shunning of the generic fps-waves? No fair man, first you bitch and moan on genericness (durr...huh?) and now you claim to break down crying when the 4th entry in a shooter-series with a rehashed gimmick isn't released this year?
You sir, are fickle.
@Winterbringer:
Agreed 101%...
Wow... just a few months ago, we thought it was the end of Timesplitters...
Now if someone would pick up the new Stars Wars: Bf game... I think we are all set!
@Archaotic: Seriously, Im not a FPS buff, but Timesplitters was one of the most original IP's I have ever had the joy of playing. Level editors, tons of content, and Co-Op in a time where others only dreamed of it.
And of course Battlefront was always fun as well.
willy626
As long as it's not Haze 2 then this is good news.
Winterbringer
+ Watch video
I am already a big lover of free radical, and if crytek really is going to help them even more then I say go for it!
I can't wait for ts4 and what the future holds.
Crytek is a damn good developer, and from whom Ive met on Crysis Wars it is staffed by some damn fine individuals.
As an old-school Timesplitters fan, I am glad that Free Radical got put in with such a fine group.
I think the skull on his shoulder is a little much
Agreed, Fahey. If TimeSplitters 4 isn't finished this year, I will cry. Verily so.
@arniejolt: Haze was amazing dude.
99-Luft-Balloons
@Xusder: RAGE.
[www.geocities.com]
Hmm, I'd rather have no Timesplitters 4 at all than a shell of a game not made by its original creators. Since most of the founding members of Free Radical that made the company so great seem to have left, I'm not sure what to think of this.
@Winterbringer:
What if they make it better? Like how the first Killzone sucked balls, and how the second one got positive reviews! I'm sure Crytek will help Free Radical with their games if they need assistance.
sentroshi
TIMESPLITTERS 4 = FUCK YES.
HAZE = FUCK NO BITCHES!
We are thankful for Crytek and the generous and hopefully mutually profitable arrangement that they have made ... and I'll be happy to wait another couple of years for Timesplitters 4 as long as it is treated with the same delicate hand and brilliant design that 3/Future Perfect was.
FrankieViturello
GODDAMN IT WHY WILL THEY NEVER SAY IF THEY'RE MAKING TS4.
The suspense is killing me.
Kotaku, please use your powers of journalism to extract an answer to this question from them!
@D-K, Came for the punch, stayed for the band-aid: hahah this interchange was great... funny confrontation for the win.