TimeSplitters 4 Playable Prototype Found in PS3 DevKit

Last year, Free Radical Design was sadly shut down, effectively putting an end to the hopes and dreams of a return to the TimeSplitters franchise, which faded into darkness way back in 2005 following the release of the third game in the series, Future Perfect. There was a TimeSplitters 4 on the cards that was rumoured to be in development as far back as 2007, but it never materialised.

Now, a user on Reddit has shared images and details of a TimeSplitters 4 prototype that they found hidden away on a PS3 DevKit they purchased on eBay. It has surprised everyone, and the PS3 subreddit is lighting up about this discovery.

It started with an image of a TimeSplitters 4 thumbnail and – at present – ended with a series of images being shared showing a booted, running prototype of TimeSplitters 4 on a PlayStation 3 DevKit. In the post shared to Reddit, the user revealed they’d paid £525 for the console, which is turning out to be a treasure trove already.

Many Redditors have urged the user – Flimsy-Zebra3775 – to dump the files or to upload the game to an archive site for preservation and datamining. The recently-crowned gaming historian has confirmed that he plans to hand the files over to the ‘archive team’ on the TimeSplitters subreddit as soon as possible, and with their help, they’ll ensure the product is treated with the respect many claim it deserves.

It was later revealed by Flimsy-Zebra3775:

I asked the seller a lot of probing questions without giving it away, they indeed had a friend who worked at free radical until november 2008 a month before the studio shut down. They are going to boot the game up at the weekend to see what it is and send me a video, if it’s legit I’ll buy it and if someone who knows hdd dumping helps me I’ll upload the drive

Since then, the seller – who is revealed as being reputable on the popular selling platform – has managed to successfully boot and run the game, sharing a series of pictures of the TimeSplitters 4 prototype in play.

We’ll update this when video footage has been made available.

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