THQ Nordic acquires TimeSplitters and Second Sight IP from Crytek

After thirteen years without a new entry, Crytek has finally let go of the TimeSplitters IP, handing it over to THQ Nordic-owned Koch Media. It looks like plans are already under way, too, which might not bode well for long-term fan project TimeSplitters Rewind.

TimeSplitters gained prominence with the first entry back 2000 as Free Radical Design’s first video game. It capitalised on the success of Goldeneye, housing many of the same team behind the beloved James Bond title. Two sequels came from the same studio before Free Radical transformed into the ill-fated Crytek UK and once again into Deep Silver Dambuster Studio, leaving the IP for TimeSplitters with its former employer.

Deep Silver-owner Koch Media has acquired the rights to everything TimeSplitters, reuniting the IP with its original team over at Deep Silver Dambuster. Given that it now has the ability to produce new games and re-release older titles, this could prove to be a bump in the road for long-term fan remake TimeSplitters Rewind.

Fans gained the approval of Crytek to remake the original trilogy not long after its 2013 conception, providing that its proprietary CryEngine was used. Dubbed TimeSplitters Rewind, this has become the closest project to giving fans a taste of modern TimeSplitters, only hindered by the small size of its unpaid team having to work in their free time. The folks leading the development have yet to issue a statement on the acquisition.

“We are hugely excited to have acquired Timesplitters. The original games gave fans a massive content offer and provided a pure and genuinely fun arcade shooter experience,” Koch Media boss Klemens Kundratitz said in a statement. “We have many fans of the Timesplitters series among our own staff who are passionate about creating a product that will thrill todays gaming audience.”

Alongside TimeSplitters, Koch Media has also picked up Free Radical’s Second Sight series, promising that future entries will “also be published by Deep Silver.” Details of what Koch Media has in store for either franchise are being kept under wraps for now.

KitGuru Says: While I am saddened that the amount of passion from TimeSplitters Rewind might possibly go to waste, it’s good to see the IP back with a studio that will do something with it. There’s nothing worse than being a fan of a series that is left stagnating. What do you want to see from a new TimeSplitters or Second Sight game?

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