Gameplay footage from the cancelled TimeSplitters game has appeared online and fans are wondering why the game looks like Fortnite. The gameplay was originally shared by Rob Steptoe via his LinkedIn account but was soon after removed and uploaded onto YouTube.
TimeSplitters was in development at Free Radical Design and was announced back in May of 2021. It was meant to be the spiritual successor to the iconic classic series from back in 2000 and its sequel in 2002. The original series was praised for its mixture of solo and cooperative play but also for its fluid gameplay which was inspired by titles like GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark.
Fans were hoping to play a new TimeSplitters game but every time a new one was announced, it was thrown into development Hell. TimeSplitter 4 was rumoured to be in development at the studio after a petition drove awareness around the game. Free Radical claimed the game wasn’t ever being made.
In 2018, Koch Media acquired the rights for TimeSplitters and announced it has intentions to work on a new game. That game was then confirmed in 2021.
Sadly, Free Radical Design, which was owned by Embracer Group was shut down in November 2023 and the TimeSplitter project was cancelled. That gameplay is now the footage you’ll see below.
The footage looks a lot like Fortnite. If anything, it looks like a cheaper, unpolished version of the free-to-play game. it shows players dropping in from the sky and parachuting down. They can then explore a large-scale map and fight off other players.
When they defeat players, they can loot their gear and the game also features its own in-game store with various cosmetics available to purchase.
I don’t know about you but I don’t think TimeSplitters would have received the love it deserved if the game was released as a Fortnite clone. But you be the judge of that. Check out the gameplay below.