TimeSplitters Rewind is the long-awaited remake of the original TimeSplitters trilogy, a series of highly popular first-person shooters released between the years 2000 and 2005. Having started the project back in 2013, the remake, or rather “reimagining,” is finally available for download on TimeSplitters Rewind’s official website — and it’s 100% free to play.
The lengthy development period and free availability aren’t the only unusual things about TimeSplitters Rewind. For starters, the remake is entirely fan-made; close to 200 contributors have poured their passion and time into the project over the past decade, as the website states. After acquiring the TimeSplitters IP in 2009, Crytek UK gave its official blessing to the fan project in 2013, even providing original TimeSplitters assets.
Although the initial plan generated a positive response, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing from there; the project slowed down, moved to a different engine, changed project leads, abandoned initial plans for a PlayStation 4 release, and was almost abandoned in its entirety several times.
“Sorry it’s taken us so long,” a statement on the TimeSplitters website reads. “We’ve only been making the largest free content video game ever.”
And large it is, for TimeSplitters Rewind includes an online and offline story mode, co-op, 28 maps, 96 characters, 41 weapons, and more. Rather than being an exact remake, the new version is intended to capture the spirit of the original trilogy in a single, reimagined version. Although the full story is already available, TimeSplitters Rewind is released in early access, which means that further updates await in the future.
