As spotted by the eagle-eyes of Gematsu, TimeSplitters has been rated by a Taiwanese ratings board.
The rating is for PS4 and PS5 versions of the game, and like Gematsu says in their tweet, the mostly likely explanation is that it will be hitting the PlayStation Classics lineup soon as the latest game in Sony’s newest wave of PS2 emulation.
TimeSplitters has been rated for PS5 and PS4 in Taiwan. 99 percent likely it’s the PS2 version for the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog, considering the platforms. Search “TimeSplitters” here to see the rating yourself: https://t.co/kSQ7a9X1P4 pic.twitter.com/InFED7ihTx
— Gematsu (@gematsu) June 18, 2024
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Currently, the TimeSplitters IP is owned by the Embracer Group, which is in the process of splitting into three companies, all with very strange names. While this could be a new TimeSplitters title, it’s very unlikely as the company Embracer specifically made to create a TimeSplitters sequel was shut down last year.
TimeSplitters was developed by Free Radical and released in October of 200 alongside the PlayStation 2. Reviewers were good and players loved the game, so a sequel was released just two years later, followed by a third game in 2005. A fourth game was planned by Free Radical entered into administration and was subsequently bought by Crytek who put TimeSplitters 4 on ice.
Various reports and rumours of TimeSplitters titles would surface over the years but nothing official ever came to fruition. Then in 2018 there was a glimmer of hope as Koch Media acquired the rights to TimeSplitters with the intention to make and publish new entries in the series under their Deep Silver company.
In 2021, Free Radical Design was formed and staffed with numerous people who worked on the original games. Their aim was to make a new TimeSplitters game, although at the time development hadn’t begun.
And then sadly in late 2023, the Embracer Group, the parent company of Free Radical Design, announced the studios closure a mere three years after it was formed. Free Radical Design did not manage to release a single game in that time.
