HappySqurriel said:
I was actually thinking something very similar ... With how few western publishers are turning healthy profits, and how difficult it is to access credit, I think that Nintendo is one of the few companies who could put in an offer for Free Radical and so they would be cheap at the moment. I really enjoyed the Timesplitters games and Second Site, and I think that (depending on how much debt Free Radical holds) it might make sense to buy Free Radical just to control those IPs; if any of the talent remains in the company this could be an amazing deal for a company like Nintendo.
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It sounds like most of the staff was already gone.
http://www.edge-online.com/features/source-free-radical-locked-up
The source claimed that the company "didn't treat their staff well at all." Rumors of a closure were circulating within the company for "a few weeks."
"People have been leaving in droves due to lack of security, poor treatment of staff, better offers and guaranteed work from other local developers such as Monumental Games and one in Derby whose name escapes me [Rebellion and Core Design both have Derby locations--ed.]."
Doak reportedly "officially" left the company early this month, and Ellis has set up another company called Pumpkin Beach, which already has a placeholder website registered under his name. The two are reportedly working on this project together and will "hand pick" Free Radical staff to join them.
