Has The Last Guardian Been Abandoned?
As of August 6th of this year, Sony has apparently let Team Ico’s The Last Guardian trademark fall into disuse with Trademarkia and a few other outlets stating the title is listed as “ABANDONED - NO STATEMENT OF USE FILED.”
Supposed to be the spiritual successor to the studio’s previous two critically acclaimed games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, Team Ico’s Last Guardian was announced back in 2009, briefly appearing before the public and having spent more time gestating in the dark (it’s missed both last year’s Tokyo Game Show and this year’s E3 despite Sony’s assurance the game was chugging along). Production suffered its biggest blow when the loosely linked trilogy’s creator, Fumito Ueda, departed the studio, slowing the game’s progress.
Now, just because the trademark’s filing status has changed (negatively, in this case), that doesn’t necessarily mean the title is officially cancelled. Sony’s only willing to comment to the point that they “don’t comment on speculation." The Last Guardian’s status is definitely up in the air, no doubt, but we’ll keep you posted if this one goes from "critical” to “feet up.”
UPDATE: Sony reached out to Game Informer’s own Jim Reilly with these silky, comforting words: “The project is still in development. Nothing new to report at this time." Okay, I lied about the comforting part. I guess that’s a more satisfying status update than "stick a fork in her." But not by much.