Rumour: Free Radical shutting up shop? [Update]

Word's spreading that Free Radical may have closed its doors.

The UK developer currently isn't answering its phone.

Free Rad's known to be working on Star Wars: Battlefront 3 and TimeSplitters 4.

Thanks, Hunam.

Update: CVG's reporting that FRD's Christmas party wasn't the most pleasant of affairs. It doesn't sound good.

Update 2: We've been told staff have congregated at a nearby hotel after finding the developer locked this morning. GI's saying the same thing, and has posted the closure as fact.

Update 3: Just got this from a developer source:

"They changed the locks yesterday, and turned up today to find the place shut and locked up this morning. They are all waiting to find out exactly whats going on and IF the company still exists in some way, or if this is the end of the line.

Shitty thing to happen this close to Xmas, and Haze aside, to one of the best devs in England."

Update 4: It's just been confirmed by a solid source to VG247 that Free Rad lost the Battlefront project months ago. Rebellion's rumoured to have picked it up, but we can't confirm that. Our source says the developer was "struggling" to find a publishing deal for TimeSplitters 4.

Update 5: And that's that, pretty much.