Administrator confirms Free Radical demise

A spokesperson for Resolve, the company called in to deal with the administration of Free Radical Design, has confirmed that the developer is facing a struggle for survival - but revealed that the 185 staff have been paid up until the end of December.

Staff arrived at the Nottingham office yesterday to find the locks changed and a note asking them to assemble at a nearby hotel for a meeting.

At this point the future of the company looks uncertain, but a further announcement is expected shortly.

"The company was placed in to administration yesterday afternoon," said Resolve spokesperson Cameron Gunn, according to ThisIsNottingham. "We will be spending the next three or four days assessing the financial position of the company but it's business as usual, although we have asked that almost all of the employees apart from a skeleton crew remain at home.

"All employees have been paid up until the end of December and we hope to make another announcement before Christmas or very soon thereafter, but we must stress at this stage that it's business as usual."

UPDATE: GamesIndustry.biz understands that 40 people are still working in the Free Radical offices, mainly on game concepts, and should be there into the New Year - but that no specific publisher deal is in effect.