Independent UK studio Free Radical Design closed its doors this morning, GamesIndustry.biz understands, with multiple sources claiming that staff, including senior executives, have already left the company. (...) One source claims staff turned up to work today to find doors locked, and instructions to meet at a nearby hotel for a final company meeting.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/f ... al-trouble
PS: Nice Christmas surprise for the employees... 
I know someone who worked there until recently. He said there were rumblings afoot, so I'm not too surprised. It always sucks to hear about people turning up for work and finding the doors shut... it's the stuff of nightmares.
Fucked up times
Just in time for Christmas. Merry Christmas free radical employees!
Oh, fuck off. Guess there goes Timesplitters 4, then.
I didn't realise they were right next to me in Nottingham. Makes it even worse! 
I think the English goverment needs to kick in and help the games industry, it's currently the most expensive place in the world to make games and that can't be good for tougher times.
NOOOOOOESSS Timesplitters.
Quote from DeathyNOOOOOOESSS Timesplitters.
+1 Assuming this TS was going to have an online compenent it would've easily been the best console fps ever.
It sucks that these guys aren't around... they were the only few people who knew what the hell they were doing when it came to the genre. 
Damn, nice Christmas those guys must be having...
I was so hoping this wasn't true.... 
An interseting twist?
I think he refers to a small core team staying to work on game concepts...maybe a publisher signs a deal with them in the last minute and pumps cash into the studio, but that sounds more like a last straw of hope to me
Oh they made Haze? Man that game flopped major time.
From what I hear, they were grosely mismanaged. And Haze was horrible. The closure is not really a surpise imo.
I didnt want to be the one who said that, but you need to make really good games. It's too easy to blame the finacial crisis for closure when a the end of the day it's about making games that people will buy. In a finacial crisis (god I hate that term) the weakest will fall yes it sucks but good developers will find work in no time, the industry is oozing for experienced developers.
I hear from most people that really good developers are having a hard time recuiting experienced people because the industry has expanded so fast.
According to my insider sources, Codemasters and Realtime Worlds headhunted around all the staff outside the hotel after the meeting.
Quote from Ginger LordAccording to my insider sources, Codemasters and Realtime Worlds headhunted around all the staff outside the hotel after the meeting.
Vultures...
Up until Haze, they did make good games.
I really can't comment on their management ability, but the Timesplitters series, and even Second Sight, were clever and unique games. Haze was their attempt to go more hardcore and photorealistic in style, and it was clearly a bad idea for them to attempt that with the same staff who were good at those more zany and stylized games.
Still wondering how one can "lose the rights" to develop a game (in this case the rumored LucasArts Battlefront game). It seems to me if you sign a contract...well, you signed a contract.
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