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Koch Media snaps up TimeSplitters and Second Sight IP

Koch Media snaps up TimeSplitters and Second Sight IP

After seemingly ending up in IP hell, the TimeSplitters franchise has been acquired by Koch Media.

The Deep Silver parent - itself owned by THQ Nordic - bought the TimeSplitters and Second Sight from Crytek. These were franchises created by Free Radical Design, which became Crytek UK. There's no mention of PS3 shooter Haze, which was also created by Free Radical.

Crytek UK ended up becoming Deep Silver Dambuster, the studio behind Homefront: The Revolution. That title featured an arcade machine which let fan favourite TimeSplitters 2 be played. This was considered by many to be a sign that the franchise was making a return in some capacity.

Less known is Second Sight, an IP that launched in 2004 about messing around with psychic abilities 

"We are hugely excited to have acquired TimeSplitters," Koch CEO Klemens Kundratitz said.

"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."

In a market that seems to be somewhat sick of the gritty shooters that characterised the late 00s and early 10s - one that now favours the colour and personality of Fortnite and Overwatch - TimeSplitters could certainly find a sizeable market. Oh, and then there's the legions of fanboys who were desperate for the franchise to return. Hi.

It's unclear what this means for fan creation TimeSplitters Rewind which kicked off in 2013. 


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.