Bye Bye Free Radical Design

Haly · 19-12-2008, 00:06

Quote:

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.

It is also believed that the unnamed project for LucasArts - announced back in 2006 and thought to be Star Wars Battlefront III - has been shipped off to Rebellion, the developer behind PSP hit Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron.

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.

From: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ancial-trouble

Real shame imo. Despite not having the greatest of hits lately, I did have a soft spot for Free Radical. Probably helped by them having some ties with my old Uni.

According to Edge Online: Reps from U.K. game makers Codemasters and Monumental Games were at the hotel after the meeting asking for CVs and applications from former Free Radical staffers.
So hopefully many staff won't be out of a job for long.

Daz · 19-12-2008, 00:42

Codemasters put some money behind the bar and were a welcome presence apparently. Best mate works there, really gutted for him

Streeteh · 19-12-2008, 05:48

While trying my best to avoid sounding like a cynic, i'm not really bothered by this. Free Radical have imo produce two good games, the first two timesplitters titles, the first of which was flawed anyway but heralded as it was good for a launch title. Haze was a dire mess, worsened by their own over hyping of the title, releasing doctored images and claiming they were completely in game renders, constantly releasing dev videos gushing about how awesome all of these 'new' features were going to be. Building up games to be excellent when they are in fact mediocre (or terrible in this case) is becoming a bit of a trend this generation and i very much dislike it; these guys were one of the worst offenders when it came to haze.

It's been 6 years since Free Radical produced a good game, while it is a shame to see a British developer fold i'm more concerned about those that consistently produce good titles such as Studio Liverpool, Codemasters and Rockstar North. With new smaller British developers, such as Media Molecule and Evolution Studios, producing new, high quality franchises i personally feel that the British games development industry hasn't been stronger in many years, I won't miss Free Radical.

As a side note, i wonder if one of the small, faceless development studios that belong the EA were to close, would people care? EA gets flak for being a huge company that releases some poorly coded titles but several of their smaller development studios have released far more fantastic titles in recent history than Free Radical. I feel many peoples views on this are fueled by nostalgia and affection for British companies, not for the quality of their products.

Not taking a dig at anyone here at all btw! I loved timesplitters 1 + 2 too, but it is strange seeing how upset other people are about this across the 'net.

NokkonWud · 19-12-2008, 14:00

I made my thoughts on it clear on OcUK and they very much echoed Streeteh's in that Timesplitters 1 and 2 were good games and even then the former only because the launch line-up for PS2 was as bad as the PS3's, and in that company Timesplitters stood out as a strong game despite having a woeful SP campaign.

I was hoping for big things from Haze, but every Dev Diary I saw was praising the A.I. and how clever it was and all the while I was watching it was thinking "The A.I. looks terrible!" and I said as much at the time (for which I was criticized

).

The thing that seems to upset most people is that the company was formed by the creators of GoldenEye and a lot of it does lie in nostalgia because in terms of quality they just haven't delivered. A good example of a company would be Ubisoft Montreal who have released more good games in 13 months than Free Radical had in over 5 years (and more in numbers too).

Haly · 19-12-2008, 15:38

For me, it's not nostalgia. It's simply that I don't like seeing any British games company go bust. Much the same as i don't like seeing any large company go bust really, feel sorry for the staff and all involved!

19-12-2008, 00:42	#2
Daz The Stig Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Swad! Posts: 10,713	Codemasters put some money behind the bar and were a welcome presence apparently. Best mate works there, really gutted for him __________________ apt-get moo

19-12-2008, 05:48	#3
Streeteh Vodka Martini Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Kingston Posts: 862	While trying my best to avoid sounding like a cynic, i'm not really bothered by this. Free Radical have imo produce two good games, the first two timesplitters titles, the first of which was flawed anyway but heralded as it was good for a launch title. Haze was a dire mess, worsened by their own over hyping of the title, releasing doctored images and claiming they were completely in game renders, constantly releasing dev videos gushing about how awesome all of these 'new' features were going to be. Building up games to be excellent when they are in fact mediocre (or terrible in this case) is becoming a bit of a trend this generation and i very much dislike it; these guys were one of the worst offenders when it came to haze. It's been 6 years since Free Radical produced a good game, while it is a shame to see a British developer fold i'm more concerned about those that consistently produce good titles such as Studio Liverpool, Codemasters and Rockstar North. With new smaller British developers, such as Media Molecule and Evolution Studios, producing new, high quality franchises i personally feel that the British games development industry hasn't been stronger in many years, I won't miss Free Radical. As a side note, i wonder if one of the small, faceless development studios that belong the EA were to close, would people care? EA gets flak for being a huge company that releases some poorly coded titles but several of their smaller development studios have released far more fantastic titles in recent history than Free Radical. I feel many peoples views on this are fueled by nostalgia and affection for British companies, not for the quality of their products. Not taking a dig at anyone here at all btw! I loved timesplitters 1 + 2 too, but it is strange seeing how upset other people are about this across the 'net. __________________ PSN & Live! ID: Streeteh Last edited by Streeteh; 19-12-2008 at 05:58.

19-12-2008, 14:00	#4
NokkonWud BD Recruitment Officer Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Smogville Posts: 3,880	I made my thoughts on it clear on OcUK and they very much echoed Streeteh's in that Timesplitters 1 and 2 were good games and even then the former only because the launch line-up for PS2 was as bad as the PS3's, and in that company Timesplitters stood out as a strong game despite having a woeful SP campaign. I was hoping for big things from Haze, but every Dev Diary I saw was praising the A.I. and how clever it was and all the while I was watching it was thinking "The A.I. looks terrible!" and I said as much at the time (for which I was criticized ). The thing that seems to upset most people is that the company was formed by the creators of GoldenEye and a lot of it does lie in nostalgia because in terms of quality they just haven't delivered. A good example of a company would be Ubisoft Montreal who have released more good games in 13 months than Free Radical had in over 5 years (and more in numbers too). __________________

19-12-2008, 15:38	#5
Haly Do you want to hide in my box? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 14,941	For me, it's not nostalgia. It's simply that I don't like seeing any British games company go bust. Much the same as i don't like seeing any large company go bust really, feel sorry for the staff and all involved! __________________ Halycopter