Timesplitters 2 HD and Killer Instinct HD could have appeared on Xbox Live Arcade at one point, developer Free Radical revealed yesterday.

Speaking with notenoughshaders.com, Steve Ellis, Lee Musgrave and Martin Wakeley confirmed that Timesplitters 2 HD had been in development at Free Radical back in 2008. The intention had been to revitalise some of the older franchises through cooperation with third-party developers.

Steve Ellis said:

“We had a ‘HD’ downloadable version of TimeSplitters 2 in development at Free Radical in 2008.

“I don’t know what happened to that but yes, I’d love to see it released at some point. Maybe it could be the catalyst that is required in order to raise enough interest in TimeSplitters 4 that a publisher might want to fund it.”

Lee Musgrave explained:

“Rare outsourced some of the conversion/development of Banjo Kazooie for Xbox Live Arcade, and it was kind of a test case for us to see what could be achieved in terms of developing with a partner, keeping our costs low and making some revenue.

“We came close to firing off a conversion of Killer Instinct a few times, but there were licensing obstacles to that, and it never really had enough perceived interest to push it forward.”

Pressure has been building from the Timesplitters community for a new instalment in the crazy FPS, with fans taking to the internet to sign a petition in hopes of swaying Crytek to their cause.