First-person shooter fans looking forward to Homefront: The Revolution have yet another reason to pick up the game: TimeSplitters 2.
TimeSplitters 2, for those not in the know, is regarded by many as a classic FPS of the PlayStation 2 era. Now, a whole new generation of gamers will get the chance to play the first two levels of the game in Homefront: The Revolution by discovering a hidden TimeSplitters 2 arcade cabinet within the game.
Players can track the Easter egg down in occupied Philadelphia by looking for a makeshift prison area. However, while the inclusion of a portion of TimeSplitters 2 is welcome, the reason behind why it's there gets kind of complicated (via Kotaku U.K.).
Back when development on Homefront: The Revolution first began, the developer behind the game sported the name Crytek U.K., which had formerly been known as Free Radical Design, the developer of TimeSplitters. Publisher Deep Silver then acquired the game and studio from Crytek when the company put Homefront up for sale due to financial trouble, which then led to Crytek U.K. being renamed Dambuster. Make sense?
While some might think the inclusion of a TimeSplitters Easter egg may point toward an eventual TimeSplitters 3, don't get your hopes up. Crytek still owns the rights to TimeSplitters, not the developer formerly known as Free Radical Design, so chances of seeing a new entry in the franchise anytime soon aren't likely, given Crytek's recent focus on free-to-play titles. The only reason the first two levels of TimeSplitters 2 are still in Homefront: The Revolution is due to the fact that, when Deep Silver bought Homefront: The Revolution, it bought all the assets made for the game at that point.
So, to summarize: even though Deep Silver doesn't own the rights to TimeSplitters, it does own the rights to all of Homefront: The Revolution, which included the first two levels of TimeSplitters 2 at the time Deep Silver purchased the rights to the game.
Yeah, it's complicated. Yet, it's still great news for gamers. Homefront: The Revolution launches on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on May 17.
