THQ Nordic is doing that thing again where they buy up the rights to an old franchise. This time, the publisher has purchased the right to the TimeSplitters trilogy from Crytek.
All three games in the franchise (TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect) were originally developed by Free Radical Design, and THQ Nordic’s purchase is a homecoming of sorts for the series. Crytek originally acquired the rights to the franchise after purchasing the developer in 2009. They were then shut down by Crytek in 2014, and the majority of the staff went on to form the core of THQ Nordic’s Dambuster Studios.
Now that you’re all caught up, it’s tempting to wonder if this means that TimeSplitters 4 is on the way. THQ Nordic wasn’t ready to talk about the future, but they do have a habit of re-releasing classic games (like the Re-Mars-tered Edition of Red Faction: Guerrilla) and commissioning sequels (like Darksiders III) from the franchises they acquire:
TimeSplitters was largely considered as one of the most influential console games of the early 2000s. The three game series earned a large and passionate fan base thanks to its unique humour, art style, and pop culture references while encouraging customization and modification to give each person their own individual experience. TimeSplitters was originally created by the development studio Free Radical Design that later become Deep Silver Dambuster, part of the THQ Nordic group.
Finally, THQ Nordic also announced they’ve acquired the rights to Second Sight, another shooter produced by Free Radical in the early 2000s.
UPDATE: THQ Nordic’s Deep Silver label has confirmed that “forthcoming products” based on TimeSplitters and Second Sight are both currently in development. We don’t yet know if they’re sequels or remasters (or both), but hopefully we’ll learn more soon.
