You might be wondering what has happened to Prey 2, the delayed shooter that Bethesda was supposed to release this year. Rumors have suggested that maybe it was actually cancelled, that maybe developer Human Head Studios is no longer working on it, that maybe Bethesda has just given up.

Well it's not cancelled, according to Human Head's Nathan Cheever. It's just in limbo:

I've pinged Bethesda just in case they're willing to shed more light on this strange situation. Will update this post should I hear back.

Update: Bethesda tells us: "We don't have any additional information to share on the status of Prey 2."

(Thanks, Fábio!)

(Photo: oliveromg/Shutterstock)

There's a good reason Prey 2 has been delayed to 2013, as announced today. It's because its development studio hasn't worked on the game since November, according to an anonymous source speaking to Shacknews.

The reason for that? Human Head, the developer "was not happy with the terms its contract with [publisher] ZeniMax," reports Shacknews, "and deliberately stopped work on the game in November so it could try to negotiate a more favorable deal."

This is according to a Shacknews source who asked not to be identified. The source said some of the development team were laid off, and hoped to be rehired if the deal could be restructured. But ZeniMax stopped talking to Human Head in January, which is probably why rumors surfaced in March that the whole thing would be canceled.

Confronted by Shacknews, ZeniMax gave no additional comment beyond this morning's statement that the game was delayed.

Source: Human Head hasn't worked on Prey 2 since November [Shacknews]

Despite rumors, Prey 2 is not cancelled, publisher Bethesda said today. But it won't be out in 2012.

"Development of Prey 2 has not been cancelled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned," the company said in a statement today. "The delay is due to the fact that game development has not progressed satisfactorily this past year, and the game does not currently meet our quality standards."

Last month, a Dutch website reported that the upcoming first-person shooter, developed by the studio Human Head, had been axed. Bethesda would not comment at the time.

"Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans," Bethesda said today. "We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want. We are determined only to release the AAA game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule."

Publisher Bethesda may have axed the first-person shooter Prey 2, according to a report from Dutch gaming website PS Focus.

We can't vouch for PS Focus's veracity, but the rumor has bounced around Twitter and other gaming websites today. This afternoon, Game Informer editor Jim Reilly tweeted that Bethesda had offered no comment on the rumor.

Though the source here is shaky, we do know that Bethesda parent company ZeniMax forced developer Human Head Studios to pull the Prey sequel from talks at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco earlier this month. Lead graphics programmer Brian Karis said as much on his Twitter feed back in February.

Described as a blend of Blade Runner and Red Dead Redemption, Prey 2 made headlines for looking absolutely gorgeous at last year's E3 conference. Bethesda slated it to be released this year for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

We've reached out to both Human Head Studios and Bethesda and will update if we hear anything else.

Prey 2 may be canceled by Bethesda [PS Focus via NeoGAF]

U.S. Marshal Killian Samuel goes from alien hostage to intergalactic bounty hunter in Prey 2, and these Gamescom screens show off his less-than-happy hunting grounds.

Prey 2's premise is rather original, taking a helpless human from the original game and transforming him into a force feared by criminals across the known galaxy. You just can't use there term bounty hunter along with aliens without evoking the holy trinity.

Ain't nothing wrong with being compared to or bringing to mind Star Wars. At least it doesn't remind me of the Wing Commander movie.

Earlier this week we posted a picture of Dawasi "Tommy" Tawodi checking out the world of Prey 2. Turns out that single image won't be all we're seeing of Tommy in the sequel to the game in which he originally starred.

"He's a character that you encounter many times throughout the game," Human Head's Chris Rhinehart tells IGN. "It's not just a single cameo where he shows up and takes off. He's integral to the story and events on Exodus. One of the big things is, the unique abilities that Tommy has, specifically spirit walk and death walk, are integral to his role and how he actually fits into the story."

Added to Tommy's spiritual play is the ability to bounty-hunter your way through a Blade-Runneresque alien world of Prey 2 as air marshal Killian Samuels.

I cannot wait to play this game.

Tommy Returns in Prey 2 [IGN]

Dawasi "Tommy" Tawodi might not be repeating his gig as Prey's leading man in the upcoming sequel, but that doesn't mean he won't be playing a part. even if that part involves doing his best impression of Journey front man Steve Perry.

Fresh from the Prey 2 Facebook page, this is the first look we're getting at good old Tommy in the ambitious open world sequel, and he's looking mighty fine, at least from what we can see. Killian Samuels, an air marshal aboard an extremely memorable airplane in the first game takes over as the hero this time around, but it just wouldn't be Prey without a little Tommy.

The Native American's "Don't Fear the Reaper" moment in the original Prey was one of my favorite moments in gaming history. The only way to top it is to have him soulfully belt out "Oh Sherry" in the sequel. He's poised in this picture. Just let nature take its course.

Prey 2 had me at intergalactic bounty hunter.

I don't need to know how they tie this blending of Red Dead Redemption and Blade Runner into the original Prey, (you're an air marshal on a plane spotted in just a few minutes of the original game). I don't need to have new catchy phrases like alien noir paraded out to sell me on it. All I need to know is that you're a human bad ass taking down alien bounties in an open world.

I suspect Chris Rhinehart, co-founder of developer Human Head Studio, knows this as he explains the game's backstory. You play as Killian Samuels, an air marshal on Seajay Air Flight 6401, kidnapped and brought to the planet Exodus. His lead up to the gameplay is brief. He wants to let his game do the talking.

When the game opens Samuels has been on the planet for a long time, he thinks he is the only human there. He somehow becomes a bounty hunter of sorts, making some friends and lots of enemies.

Our first glimpse of the game in action takes place in the Central City Bowery, the areas looks very vertical, very busy, a bit like the city of Blade Runner. And the verticality of the game isn't just a visual distinction, it serves a purpose. You can jump and climb up the levels of the towering city. You can use gadgets to make your way up the city too as you prowl for targets.

It's important to note that this is an open world of sorts, there are things going on that have nothing to do with your current prey. At one point, for instance, Samuels comes across an alien getting a beat down. He can decide to interfere, Rhinehart tells us, but he doesn't have to. By default Samuels carries his gun holstered, but he can pull it out at any time not just to shoot, but to threaten. In this case, he leaves the scene and goes into a casino.

This is where we get our look at the first of many gadgets Samuels has: The scanner. The scanner highlights aliens of interest in yellow. Those not worthy of your attention are shown outlined in green and those that are a threat or armed are shown in red. Your target is blue.

Samuels current target seems pre-occupied with a dancer, but when he spots you he takes off running, shooting behind him as he goes. Samuels manages to make short work of him, shooting him down, rather then capturing him, and then searching his body with a button press.

Rhinehart says that not all targets will react to seeing you in the same way. Some will run, some will attack, some will give themselves up, some will call in henchmen. There's also a sort of eye in the sky you have to look at for, it is the cities police force and if things get too wild it will get involved.

This initial run in isn't nearly as elaborate as the first genuine mission we watch unfold. In it you're asked to track down an alien, first by catching up with an informant named Krux. When you finally locate him, Krux asks for 2,000 credits to tell you where your bounty is. Rhinehart tells us you don't have to pay him. You can threaten him. In this case, Samuels shoots his bodyguard, and Krux gives you the information, but says he'll be calling in a favor down the line.

Samuels uses some snazzy hover boots to hover down to the club where his bounty is hiding out. A quick scan shows that the target is surrounded by guards, so he grabs a nearby alien as a shield and walks into the thick of things.

The shield gets his head blown off in seconds and the bounty is on the lam, teleporting across short spaces away from Samuels as the hunter takes out the bar full of guards with his pistol and a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher. In combat we see that Samuels can take cover, both in the traditional way and by grabbing on to higher and lower levels and taking people out from below or above.

As the chase proceeds across the city, Samuels finds himself in another, darkened, bar. A creature with a heavy gun is spraying bullets at the bounty hunter until he uses a special device to shoot an anti-gravity wave at him. The gunner floats up from behind the cover and Samuels shoots him down.

When Samuels finally catches up with his bounty, the creature begs for his life, offers to pay more than the bounty for his release. It's your choice. Samuels can even decide to interrogate a bounty before sending him off to be collected. In this case that's what Samuels does, learning that a smuggler has a contract out on him.

After sending the bounty off to your contractor via a teleportation field, your bounty's brother comes after you, sending in a virtual army of aliens including one the size of a building. That's also how the presentation ends.

It sounds like the game, while open-ended in many ways, will lean heavily on shooting and its first-person shooter roots. Rhinehart says that designers are focusing on delivering a fast, fluid game that includes a lot of key shooter elements like the ability to seek cover, blind fire and something he called "agile combat."

It looks like a fun, single-player experience set in a colorful alien world. It also looks like nothing you'd expect to see coming from Prey. I'm OK with that, though it seems like an odd decision to try and weave these two distinctly different games into one universe.

Prey 2 is due on next year on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

No cinematic trailers or target footage here. Just a guy playing Prey 2 so you know what it actually looks like.