Bethesda and Splash Damage working together

The eyes of Bethesda Softworks and Splash Damage have met across the crowded bar of games development and one thing's led to another and the duo have announced their engagement in a "long-term development partnership". Wink wink.

More details will be announced "in the coming months", apparently, and executives on both side sound excited.

Splash Damage's owner and creative director Paul Wedgwood points out that Bethesda "has repeatedly been responsible for outstanding games as both publisher and developer", which is a fair point - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion being a particular high point and Fallout 3 likely to do well later this year.

"Both of our studios share a passion for creating great games, and we're confident that this partnership will result in even greater experiences for gamers. We're really looking forward to working with Bethesda," he went on to add.

Bethesda president Vlatko Andonov went further. "This could not be a more perfect fit," he explained. "We are extremely impressed with Splash Damage and the quality titles they produce.

"They are highly creative and innovative, and have demonstrated a high level of dedication to their projects. We are confident that gamers everywhere will be thrilled with the offerings from this collaboration."

In the meantime, gamers everywhere can be thrilled by the release next week of the console versions of Splash Damage's last game, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, although it's worth pointing out that the ports were handled by other companies.

A spokesperson for Bethesda said not to expect anything at E3.