TimeSplitters director Steve Ellis reunites with franchise

TimeSplitters co-director Steve Ellis is back working on the first-person shooter series, THQ Nordic has announced.

Ellis, who also co-directed N64 classic Goldeneye 007, will “help plot the future course for this franchise”, the company announced as part of its latest financial results.

It’s not yet clear what the move means for Ellis’s company Crash Labs, a creator of mobile games he founded in 2011.

Free Radical developed three titles in the TimeSplitters franchise for PS2, Xbox and GameCube, before being acquired and later closed by German developer Crytek.

Koch Media and its Deep Silver publishing label were acquired by THQ Nordic in February 2018 and the group purchased the TimeSplitters property in August of the same year, along with another Free Radical developed title, Second Sight.

“We are hugely excited to have acquired Timesplitters,” Koch Media CEO Klemens Kundratitz said at the time.

“The original games gave fans a massive content offer and provided a pure and genuinely fun arcade shooter experience. We have many fans of the Timesplitters series among our own staff who are passionate about creating a product that will thrill today’s gaming audience.”

THQ also announced on Wednesday that a new Saints Row game is “deep in development” at Volition, while Dead Island 2 now being made by Homefront: The Revolution developer Dambuster Studios.

Additionally, THQ Nordic said it has acquired Darksiders studio Gunfire Games and MotoGP developer Milestone.