Crytek has confirmed that they have authorized the development of a new TimeSplitters game for the PC, titled TimeSplitters Rewind, and are providing a free copy of the company’s CryEngine 3 for use on the project. The title is being developed by a team of fans that includes a number of former members of Free Radical Design (the original developer of the cult-classic first-person shooter).
TimeSplitter Rewind sprouted from the response to last year’s 100,000 Strong for TimeSplitters 4 fan petition, when Crytek authorized the fan-development team to use the TimeSplitters assets to create a game in November 2012. The game’s Project Manager Michael Hubicka told CookingWithGrenades that their goal is to take the best parts of the first three TimeSplitters games and combine them into a new shooter using their free copy of CryEngine 3.
“We are taking the best elements of all three games (multiplayer and challenges) and creating a whole new game. We are taking full advantage of the CryEngine 3 SDK, so while it looks great and runs extremely well – it will still *feel* like a TimeSplitters game. While it’s not a reboot, remake or sequel – we’re simply working hard to capture everything that made the original games awesome and giving it the HD touch.”
According to Hubicka, the development team is using original TimeSplitters assets as a reference for rebuilding all the character models, so every single monkey hair should look great as they are all built from scratch in CryEngine3.
When all is said and done, TimeSplitters Rewind will have multiplayer for 8-16 players, bot support, and use modes and challenges taken from the original three games. Sadly, Rewind will not support split-screen (due to CryEngine 3 lack of support for the feature). On the bright side, the developers are hoping to have a demo released as early as this December.
While we would have much rather reported that Crytek had decided to resurrect TimeSplitters 4, this is definitely good news for any fan of the classic shooter. Who knows? Maybe TimeSplitters Rewind will end up being the thing that shows Crytek that there is still interest in the TimeSplitters franchise.
