We will never see TimeSplitters 4, or rather, we will never be able to play the canceled installment of Free Radical…or that's what we thought until now. We have had to wait a long time since we learned of the existence of the fourth installment of the action franchise in 2007, which completely disappeared in 2012.
However, Reddit user Flimsy-Zebra3775 has found a real treasure for lovers of video game preservation. Browsing eBay he came across a PS3 development kit, which seemed to contain a prototype of the work. “I asked the seller many questions without giving any clues; indeed, they had a friend who worked at Free Radical until November 2008a month before the studio closed,” said the player, who was awaiting confirmation of the authenticity of the file.
After promising that, if it were real, he would share the content with the community, he finally bought the Sony console for 525 pounds, about 614.68 euros. Once in his possession and having verified that everything was correct, he proceeded to upload the data to the network, which was even celebrated by David Doak, the founder and director of Free Radical.
“This is exactly the kind of nonsense I wasn't interested in in 2008,” the developer points out on Twitter. Obviously, time has passed and we must look with different eyes at the vision that was had of TimeSplitters 4 at the time, but the demo is quite functional. The frenzy and skirmishes are still present in a rain-filled setting based on what looks like a very old castle.
The franchise also recently resurfaced when a former member of Free Radical Design showed a gameplay del remaster de TimeSplitters 2 which Embracer was working on. The results crisis in the Swedish company meant the end of the project, but this worker did not mind being generous and revealing what they were involved in.