Free Radical Design: History and Key Facts

Free Radical Design Ltd. was a British video game developer based in Nottingham. Founded by David Doak, Steve Ellis, Karl Hilton and Graeme Norgate in Stoke-on-Trent in April 1999, it is best known for its TimeSplitters series of games.

After going into financial administration, it was announced on 3 February 2009 that the studio had been acquired by German video game developer Crytek and would be renamed Crytek UK. Crytek had a good relationship with the city of Nottingham due in part to its sponsorship of the Gamecity festival and its recruitment drives with Nottingham Trent University. In 2014, the studio was closed, with a majority of the staff transferred to the newly formed Dambuster Studios.

In May 2021, two of the original founders, Doak and Ellis, reformed Free Radical Design under Deep Silver to create a new entry in the TimeSplitters series. Two years later, the second iteration was shut down on 11 December 2023.

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