Both Timesplitters 2 HD and Killer Instinct HD were once considered for an XBLA release by Free Radical, it has emerged.

According to former Rare and Free Radical staff members Steve Ellis and Lee Musgrave, Time Splitters 2 HD even reached the early stages of development back in 2008.

“I don’t know what happened to that but yes, I’d love to see it released at some point,” said Steve Ellis. “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.”

Apparently, TimeSplitters 2 HD was intended to kick off a series of collaborations that would breathe new life into old franchises.

“Rare outsourced some of the conversion/development of Banjo Kazooie for Xbox Live Arcade,” said Lee Musgrave, “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.”

“You can make your own conclusions as to how that turned out by the fact that we didn’t move on to any of the other games you mention.

“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.”

Killer Instinct made the headlines recently after Microsoft renewed the trademark to the game. And while that’s a much different thing than announcing a comeback, it was enough to get some fans excited.

Meanwhile, the last time the TimeSplitters franchise cropped up in the news, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli said that the demand isn’t high enough for a fourth entry to the series. Not yet, anyway.

[via NES]