The Last Guardian stands among the most anticipated games of all time at the moment, which is why it’s a huge shock that Sony has abandoned the trademark it had earlier secured for the game’s name. There are rumors of the company having stopped development of the title altogether, but many are being optimistic with hopes that Sony may just have changed its name or it has accidentally forgotten to renew its trademark.
As All Games Beta has pointed out, the trademark has been declared ‘abandoned’ by the United States Patent and Trademark Office because there has been ‘no Statement of Use or Extension Request’ filed after a ‘Notice of Allowance’ was issued by it. Sony has kept mum on the matter, as is the case with anything and everything related to The Last Guardian.
The possibility of the publisher having completely abandoned the game is slim because it was only in December last year its director Fumito Ueda had said that that the game is indeed moving forward under ‘completely new conditions.’ The meaning of the last part is open to interpretation, but what it does mean is that the development is currently moving on.
Also Read: The Last Guardian development on course says Fumito Ueda
The Last Guardian is being created by Team Ico, the development studio responsible for acclaimed Ico and Shadow of the Colossus games for the PS2. The game has so far been showcased though a video that was released in 2009, but after that there has been little about the game that has come out into the open.
Here’s hoping that The Last Guardian is indeed alive and kicking in Sony’s laboratories, and that we’ll be getting to hear news about it at this year’s E3 in June.