Embracer confirms that Free Radical may be shut down by Christmas – WGB, Home of AWESOME Reviews
The sinking ship known as Embracer is still fighting to save itself from complete disaster, now some 6 months into its massive restructuring plan which has so far seen over 900 people lose their jobs and multiple studios, such as Volition, closed. Even more jobs have been reported to have been lost just today.
But now it appears Free Radical, the studio behind Timesplitters, is on the chopping block and seems likely to be shut down by December 11, 2023.
VGC reported earlier this month that Embracer was considering shutting Free Radical down. Today, VGC has stated that sources within the company received an Email from Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors in which he writes: “As we move through the consultation process and face the potential closure of Free Radical Design on 11 December 2023, I want to express my gratitude for your commitment and the remarkable work you’ve done and still keep doing,”
“This is a challenging time for all of us but especially for you, and our focus is to support you as much as we can during this transition.”
Embracer resurrected Free Radical, which was shut down in 2014, just two years ago with the intent of bringing back Timesplitters. Since then we haven’t heard very much about the project.
Free Radical is based in Nottingham, and UK law states that Embracer must consult with Free Radical for a minimum of 30 days in order to figure out if there are any other options available, including selling the company. This means that someone could theoretically leap in and save the day by buying Free Radical from Embracer.
However, it seems like Free Radical’s employees are looking to abandon ship before it’s too late. Over half of the 100 staff listed on LinkedIn are advertising themselves as looking for new employment opportunities.
Oddly, the Free Radical website is actually advertising the company as hiring. I would suggest not applying.
