http://www.edge-online.com/features/source-free-radical-locked-up

Say goodbye to Timesplitters 4.

That's what you get for making Haze, fuckers.

They were never that great anyway. I mean Timesplitters was an ok series, nothing more.

Not that Haze intended to be too groundbreaking but the fact that larger developers can't find publishers after/for their more original enterprises that means we'll soon be limited to just playing Madden/Fifa 20xx because publishers only go with the easy profits.

What's sad is that Haze was just another regular shooter. It wasn't any worst or better than let's say.... ooohh Halo. :o

Gay 10x.

God damn it.

Hopefully they can get some good jobs elsewhere, maybe even Rare.

I have no sympathy for Free Radical after Haze. They could have spent all of the money from that POS and made Timesplitters 4 the best FPS this generation, but instead they tried to go for the easy money by making a cookie cutter shooter, and it flopped.

Too bad. You can say all the bad things you want about the Madden games, and Fifa, but at least they are decent for their genre. Haze was low-rent crap.

Yeah,damn them for trying something new and not putting out another sequel.

What was new about Haze?

Yeah,damn them for trying something new and not putting out another sequel.

Isn't it funny that two pretty big developers are now facing financial trouble after just one failed attempt at a new IP on PS3?

Free Radical is gone after Haze, and Factor 5 is hanging on for dear life thanks to Lair, hoping to god they can get their one Wii project out before all the money runs out:

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3171691

Sure these were both shit games, but developing for the HD consoles is putting all your eggs in one basket. If you make one wrong move, boom, your company is finished.

Free Radical had 3 successful games last gen, after one PS3 bomb they're gone.

Hell, one of my favorite devs last gen, Silicon Knights, made the piece of shit Too Human that's already been reduced in price after a few months on shelves. I got Too Human for $9, and I promptly traded it in for Boom Blox tonight, a game that is infinitely more enjoyable, is still selling well months after release, and probably cost a quarter of what Too Human cost to make. Maybe even less

I hope SK is able to bounce back after this, because I know they have greatness in them after Eternal Darkness. But something tells me they might be the next relatively independent studio put on the chopping block because of one failed HD venture. Luckily they were backed by Microsoft though, so they may be alright. At this point it seems like if you're not owned by a mega publisher like MGS, EA, Ubisoft, or Activision, you better be sure your HD gamble is a surefire hit otherwise you can flush your company down the toilet.

What was new about Haze?

Nothing.

Aw, I liked Time splitters. :(

And it looks like Factor 5 is through to:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21625