I guess it should have been listed as a rumor. 

"Update 4: It’s just been confirmed by a solid source to VG247 that Free Rad lost the Battlefront project months ago. Rebellion’s rumoured to have picked it up, but we can’t confirm that. Our source says the developer was “struggling” to find a publishing deal for TimeSplitters 4."

http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/12/18/rumour-free-radical-shutting-up-shop/

badgenome said: Darc Requiem said: badgenome said: Sucks, if true. Recession proof wut? I wouldn't say it was because of the recession. Making an HD game that tanks seems to sink small to medium size developers. The rumors swirling around Factor 5, Silicon Knights, and now Free Radical lend credence to this. Not mention larger developers like EA, Take 2, and Midway losing money. I think these happenings more than anything will be the reason the Wii starts getting more third party support. That's true. It's hard to miss that the developers of both Lair and Haze are supposed to be in trouble. I hadn't heard anything about Silicon Knights, but that would make sense. Agreed that it does bode well for the Wii's third party support, and less so for M$ and -$ony's.

         1st off, LOL at the M$ and -$ony's  Are U E to be in the red? Mean, but so true.

         I can't blame a developer for wanting to be a private company, but it's really risky, if you don't have several big franchises to keep you going. Making overly amibitous new IP's exclusively for a system that's hard to develop for, wasn't helping, either. I really wanted a new TS4 badly. I didn't even care what systems it did or didn't go to, just as long as it was good. Though, TS4 with mc would have been killer. A new 2nd Sight would have been cool, too.

        @StarcraftManiac:

        Well, Haze doesn't exactly shout buy me, even if FRD does have some amazing developers. If Ninty did pick them up, they should be carefull which staff members they get and make sure they're better managed. A major problem was that, FRD wasn't big enough to make the games they where trying to produce. Ofcourse, on the Wii and DS that wouldn't be that big of an issue. Still, I think it would be smart to add them to another staff, instead of having them work alone. Retro appears to have a staff void that needs to be filled. Sounds like an opportunity for something phenomenal, to me. Anyways, hopefully the staff will be able to find work soon. It would be even better, if the higher profile programmers at FRD don't get divided up, but I doubt things will work out like that.

So I guess money doesn't magically appear for these guys after all.

QFT.

I blame has aswell.

Very Sad. Nintendo should just buy the studio and name it freeradicalware in future, and they should also get a new logo which would be blue and golden/yellow.

Another dev gone. Not good news.

Well at least BF 3 is still going, though I am not sure I would trust rebellion to do it. They worked on Renegade Squadron, but they are a new developer, and many people are expecting greatness from battlefront III

They made a big-budget HD game and it failed to break even. Doesn't take anything more to kill the average studio nowadays.

If this is true, you will be missed, Free Radical.

P.S. Nintendo, I know you've heard this dozens of times from tons of people, but...you have money. You could bulk up your game porfolio with a good FPS or two, to attract the upstream. Free Radical needs money...

Pretty please with a cherry on top?