Confirmed: Namco ditches BottleRocket News

Yesterday's rumour that Namco pulled its Splatterhouse remake from the Californian developer BottleRocket at the last moment has been confirmed by both parties.

"Yes, we have decided to part ways with BottleRocket Entertainment, but we are committed to bringing Splatterhouse to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year," a Namco Bandai spokesperson told Gamasutra.

"At this time, we are not ready to discuss specific development details about the game, and wish BottleRocket the best of luck in their future endeavors," said the rep, generously. The game, which was nearing completion, has supposedly been passed on to the in-house Namco team that has just finished work on Afro Samurai.

Namco did not offer a reason for its decision.

A BottleRocket representative also confirmed the parting of ways with Gamasutra: "Last Friday, Namco showed up with a U-Haul truck, took all their assets (dev kits, etc.) and informed management that the title was being pulled from BottleRocket."

Although initial reports suggested the studio would have to close as a result, its future remains unclear at this time. The loss of its only two projects in quick succession - it was working on a game for Brash Entertainment when that publisher collapsed late last year - has got to hurt, though.