TimeSplitters 4 Is Already Playable?

A new report suggests that the long-rumored first-person shooter TimeSplitters 4 is still in development. Anonymous sources have even seen the game running.

"Trusted OXM sources have claimed that they've seen TimeSplitters 4 running," says the latest issue of OXM UK (via CVG). "That's no guarantee that it'll be released - at least one version of Star Wars: Battlefront 3 was cancelled without ever being announced - but it's a promising sign.

The magazine adds that if TimeSplitters 4 ever sees the light of day, it could be accompanied by remakes of the older games in the series. Game companies commonly hype the release of a long-awaited sequel by re-releasing older games in the series. For example, Capcom did it before releasing their new Bionic Commando title in 2009.

There have been rumblings about TS4 for quite some time now. There hasn't been a new game in the series since TimeSplitters: Future Perfect in 2005. After the underwhelming sales for that game, developer Free Radical Design (now Crytek UK) took a break from the franchise.

"I think we just felt that the franchise was well-received but we had other things we wanted to try before going back to it," said James Cunliffe, lead animator on Future Perfect, in an interview from last fall. "We weren't in any particular hurry to rush into TimeSplitters 4."

Is this latest rumor just another dose of false hope, or is this the real deal? Maybe we'll hear something more definitive about the game during the summer conventions like E3 or Gamescom.