Crytek UK: New TimeSplitters Depends On Market Demand

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Following the Haze debacle, developer Free Radical was forced into administration and then saved by large indie dev Crytek. Of course, now everyone wants to know: will the group - now dubbed Crytek UK - finally give us a new TimeSplitters? It was Free Radical's most critically acclaimed and well received franchise, after all.

Well, according to a recent Develop interview, Crytek UK's Karl Hilton talks about the future of the studio, and although something like TimeSplitters 4 is a definite possibility, it depends almost entirely on market demand. And furthermore, they also want to make original titles, and publishers will soon here of them. Said Hilton:

"Going forward, we’ve always made it very clear that we want to build original games and we’re going to do that, and we are concepting some of that up at the moment. It’s early days, but there’s some really exciting stuff that we’re concepting. When we’re ready we’ll talk to publishers, and hopefully publishers will like it, and we’ll own and produce those games in our own studio."

Obviously, the prime focus now is on Crysis 2, which Hilton calls a "dream project" for everyone involved. Now, most of you will likely notice the stark contrast: Crysis is all about super realistic visuals and an overall realistic style; they're really striving for the authentic stars with this one. TimeSplitters, on the other hand, has always been cartoon-y and lighthearted, albeit still fast-paced and entertaining. But it's not a question of whether or not the combination of Free Radical and Crytek could work on a new TimeSplitters; they'll just do as the market dictates. Added Hilton:

"Like with all businesses, content is dictated by the desires of the market. These days the mass-market shooters tend to be aimed at the hyper-realistic stuff. If developers had free reign with the CryEngine, they would easily be able to produce really bizarre, wacky wonderful stuff.

We have artists who can make super-realistic games but we also have a team that has experience making completely bizarre stuff too. If the time comes, if there is a demand for that type of game, I’m confident we’d be ready for it."

So basically, they're going to need to hear it from the fans before they start work on TimeSplitters 4. This isn't exactly surprising, but he's certainly right: you don't see FPSs like TS anymore; they really are more about hyper-realism. But there are many, many fans of that franchise out there, so perhaps they'll be vocal enough...

8/17/2009 Ben Dutka

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