A code unlocking the entirety of classic FPS classic TimeSplitters 2 has been uncovered in 2016 shooter Homefront: The Revolution some five years following the latter's release thanks to an internet hunt sparked by a former developer on the game.
During the recent Easter Holiday weekend, former developer for Dambuster Studios Matt Phillips offered up his favourite easter egg he'd smuggled into a game as when he managed to put in two levels from 2002 Free Radical game TimeSplitters 2 into Homefront: The Revolution that were fully playable even in 4K resolution. However, he also added that he had, in fact, managed to put the whole game in there with the rest able to be unlocked via a secret code.
This code, however, had been lost to time when Phillips said he destroyed the notebook he had written the code in. There was hope when Phillips mentioned that he had sent the code to a friend to leak in a Discord channel before he destroyed it, but in an ironic twist said friend was banned from the channel because the people running it didn't believe him.
Just under a week after posting this revelation, however (as reported by Eurogamer) the person who Phillips leaked the code to came forward and it turned out to be none other than Xbox principal software engineer Spancer Perreault who replied to the tweet with the code. The code was then picked up by internet slueths who translated the code so it can be inputted (while you're at the arcade cabinet in-game itself) with a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One controller, which you can see in the tweet at the end of this article.
In terms of copyright legality, this is all above board too —Dambuster Studios were the former Crytek UK who were, before that Free Radical Design who originally developed the game— and the publisher of Homefront: The Revolution is Deep Silver, who themselves are owned by THQ Nordic AKA Embracer Group who currently own the TimeSplitters IP. As to whether we'll see an actual TimeSplitters sequel in the near future? Don't hold your breath.
But hey, if you've got a copy to hand and want to try this out for yourself, Homefront: The Revolution is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
