Fans of the ill-fated TimeSplitters series are getting a glimpse of what could have been if the fourth TimeSplitters title wasn't cancelled. A massive trove of unreleased concept art from developer Free Radical Design was made available to the public via Reddit, and it showcases a wide range of characters from various time periods and fantasy worlds.

The three existing TimeSplitters games, TimeSplitters 1, TimeSplitters 2, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, received widespread acclaim. The developer, now defunct, was mostly comprised of employees who had previously worked for Rare on GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark.

In 2007, a fourth game in the series was said to be in production. However, the studio was acquired by Crytek and relabeled Crytek UK in 2009, and since then fans of TimeSplitters have all but given up on the possibility. Now, those fans get an inside look at what the game could've looked like had it been made.

Concept Character Model from Timesplitters 4

Devoted fans of the franchise have taken it upon themselves to create a new TimeSplitters game, which after five years in development, received a trailer last year. The project is an effort to replicate the single-player and multiplayer experiences from the first three TimeSplitters games. The team behind TimeSplitters Rewind were aiming for a partial release in late 2017, which obviously didn't happen, and there hasn't been any indication of a revised release window.

For now, the small team behind TimeSplitters Rewind represents the only hope for the future of the franchise. As such, they released a short video diary last year chronicling the project's development, opening the curtain to reveal various art design, gameplay, and technical details.

Concept Art Showing Character Models from TimeSplitters 4

One of TimeSplitters' distinguishing traits that helped it attract such a devoted following was its large and diverse selection of characters. Essentially, characters that appeared in the single-player arcade mode were also playable characters in the multiplayer mode. Everything from the hero and villain to ghosts and zombies were playable in the TimeSplitters universe. The game incentivized long-term player engagement by making players unlock characters through challenges.

Two levels from TimeSplitters 2 are hidden in the 2016 first-person shooter, Homefront: The Revolution, a testament to the TimeSplitters series' staying power.

TimeSplitters Rewind does not have an official release date as of this reporting.

Source: Reddit