Free Radical Design

Free Radical Design Ltd.
Company type	Subsidiary (at times)
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	Rare (former employer of founders)
Founded	April 1999; 27 years ago in Stoke-on-Trent, England, UK
Founder	David Doak, Steve Ellis, Karl Hilton, Graeme Norgate
Defunct	2014 (first incarnation), December 11, 2023 (second incarnation)
Fate	Acquired by Crytek in 2009, rebranded as Crytek UK; revived in 2021 under Deep Silver; closed in 2023
Successor	Crytek UK (2009), Dambuster Studios (2014)
Headquarters	Nottingham, United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	David Doak, Steve Ellis
Products	TimeSplitters series, Second Sight, Haze, Star Wars: Battlefront III (cancelled)
Owner	Deep Silver (2021–2023)
Number of employees	185 (before 2008 bankruptcy) (2008)
Parent	Deep Silver (2021–2023)

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Free Radical Design, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 30 November 2025

Free Radical Design Ltd. was a UK-based video game developer headquartered in Nottingham. Established in April 1999 in Stoke-on-Trent by David Doak, Steve Ellis, Karl Hilton, and Graeme Norgate, the company gained recognition primarily for the TimeSplitters franchise.

After entering financial administration, the studio was acquired on 3 February 2009 by the German game developer Crytek and subsequently rebranded as Crytek UK. Crytek maintained a strong connection with Nottingham through sponsorship of the Gamecity festival and collaborative recruitment efforts with Nottingham Trent University. In 2014, Crytek UK ceased operations, with the majority of its employees transitioning to the newly established Dambuster Studios.

In May 2021, Free Radical Design was revived by founders Doak and Ellis under the umbrella of Deep Silver to create a new installment in the TimeSplitters series. This second incarnation of the studio ultimately closed on 11 December 2023.

History

The founding members and most of Free Radical Design’s original team had previously been employed by the developer Rare. While at Rare, contributors including (David Doak, Steve Ellis, Karl Hilton, Graeme Norgate, Lee Ray, and James Cunliffe) were involved in creating the Nintendo 64 first-person shooters GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark. Between late 1998 and early 1999, this group departed Rare to establish Free Radical Design in April 1999. Their debut title was TimeSplitters, released for the PlayStation 2 in 2000, noted for its fast-paced action and emphasis on multiplayer gameplay. The game attracted attention partly due to the developers’ prior work on GoldenEye 007. Its follow-up, the first-person shooter TimeSplitters 2, launched in 2002 to widespread critical praise.

Between 2006 and 2008, Free Radical Design developed Star Wars: Battlefront III, which was cancelled by its publisher despite reportedly being "99 percent" finished. This cancellation, coupled with the disappointing reception of Haze, played a significant role in pushing Free Radical Design into bankruptcy. In late 2008, Activision approached the studio to produce a remake of GoldenEye 007. Although Free Radical rebuilt the Dam Level for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms, negotiations ultimately collapsed, leading to the studio entering administration. The remake was later released on those consoles in 2011 without Free Radical’s involvement as an enhanced port of its Wii and Nintendo DS editions.

On 18 December 2008, reports emerged that the company had closed down; it was subsequently confirmed that bankruptcy had left only about 40 out of an original workforce of 185 employees still employed. Then, on 3 February 2009, Rob Yescombe—the scriptwriter for Haze—announced that Free Radical Design had been acquired by German developer Crytek. In 2010, the studio relocated from Sandiacre to new premises within Nottingham’s Southreef development. This move was supported by a £50 million investment intended to facilitate Crytek UK’s expansion over the following months.

Financial problems and closure

In June 2014, allegations surfaced that Crytek had failed to pay wages and withheld employee bonuses, prompting staff to file complaints and stage work stoppages. Since 2011, over 30 workers had departed due to diminishing morale. Initially, Crytek refuted these claims but later acknowledged on 25 July 2014 that the company was undergoing a "transitional phase," having secured funding for upcoming online gaming ventures.

On 30 July 2014, Crytek revealed plans to sell the intellectual property rights of Homefront, which was being developed by Crytek UK, to Koch Media, the parent company of publisher Deep Silver. This announcement also included significant layoffs. Although the fate of Crytek UK’s closure was uncertain, all employees were transferred to the newly created Dambuster Studios in Nottingham under UK employment regulations, where they continued development on Homefront: The Revolution.

Reestablishment and subsequent shutdown

In May 2021, Embracer Group declared the revival of Free Radical Design as a subsidiary under Deep Silver, aiming to reboot the TimeSplitters franchise. Founders Steve Ellis and David Doak returned to lead the studio, which was set up in Nottingham.

By November 2023, VGC reported that Embracer Group intended to shut down the studio on 11 December amid ongoing corporate restructuring unless an external buyer was found. This closure was officially confirmed by developers on 11 December.

Under Free Radical Design (1999–2008)

Year	Title	Publisher(s)	Genre(s)	Platforms
Year	Title	Publisher(s)	Genre(s)	GCN	Win	PS2	PS3	Xbox
2000	TimeSplitters	Eidos Interactive	First-person shooter	No	No	Yes	No	No
2002	TimeSplitters 2	Eidos Interactive	First-person shooter	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
2004	Second Sight	Codemasters	Action-adventure, stealth	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
2005	TimeSplitters: Future Perfect	Electronic Arts	First-person shooter	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
2008	Haze	Ubisoft	First-person shooter	No	No	No	Yes	No

Operating as Crytek UK (2009–2014)

Year	Title	Publisher(s)	Genre(s)	Win	PS3	X360
2011	Crysis 2	Electronic Arts	First-person shooter	Yes	Yes	Yes
2011	Crysis (port)			No	Yes	Yes
2013	Crysis 3			Yes	Yes	Yes
2014	Warface	Microsoft Studios		No	No	Yes

Cancelled titles

External links