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THQ quiet on ties to The Crucible

Rumour says it's Big Huge Games' RPG.

THQ has declined to comment on rumours that it is the publisher behind The Crucible: Evil Within, which hit the headlines recently after footage was leaked.

This is apparently the role-playing project Rise of Nations outfit Big Huge Games is working on under the command of Oblivion creator Ken Rolston, according to a Kotaku source.

The same source described the footage as being of an "absolutely archaic build" that "doesn't come close" to the recent one, which is "orders of magnitude better".

The video shows three characters - a female fighter with sword and shield; a cloaked magic user; and enormous wrestler-like bloke - walking into a city and then through a portal where a giant and magical beast that looks a bit like a caterpillar awaits.

THQ bought Big Huge Games earlier this year, citing the RPG that Oblivion designer Ken Rolston had signed-up to make as one of the major reasons why.

There's no word on what that role-playing game will be, only that Rolston believes it will be "refreshingly original" and that it will appear on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 next year.

SEGA was the first publisher to be linked with The Crucible: Evil Within, but yesterday denied rumours that this was the game it had Too Human developer Silicon Knights was making.