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A recently posted Kickstarter campaign for an iPad adventure game titled The Last Sleeper is just chock-full of surprises. For instance, this game we've never heard of looks absolutely gorgeous: It's a lovingly illustrated sci-fi game which "relies on the seamless integration of sound, image, and touch." We were pretty sure that same logic applies to all smartphone-based games -- but hey, who are we to judge when the pictures look this pretty?

Another surprise comes from the development team's roster, a list which includes Gears of War 3 composer Steve Jablonsky, Lord of the Rings sound designer Ethan Van Der Ryn and, perhaps most surprising, Halo 4 producer and designer Kendall Davis.

Together, they form Black Gold Studio. The team appears in the resume of freelance artist Rasmus Berggreen, whose curriculum vitae seems to suggest that the title will be published by Bungie Aerospace. Of course, given that the team is seeking funds from Kickstarter, it's possible that said partnership is over or still in the works. Check out the game's Kickstarter page for a full list of its esteemed creators, as well as some background info on its heady plot.

According to several GameStop customers and employees, The Last Guardian has been removed from GameStop's computer system and possibly canceled. Clerks at several stores confirmed that the game was no longer listed among titles that were coming soon and several customers of the store have received calls telling them that the game had been canceled. Blogger Darren Hupke even recorded the message. A search of the retailer's web site also shows no trace of the game.

For the moment we're without official confirmation, so we've got our fingers crossed that this is just a clerical error. Of course, with the recent departure of Fumito Ueda, we can't say this would come as a complete surprise (despite Ueda being "committed to completing" the game).

We've reached out to Sony and will let you know what we hear.

Update: You still can't pre-order The Last Guardian at Gamestop, but SCEA's Senior Director of Corporate Communications, Patrick Seybold, says reports of the game's cancellation are "not true." So, why has it disappeared from a major retailer?

Update 2: This just in from GameStop: "The Last Guardian has not been cancelled by Sony as we incorrectly stated in an automated call to reservation customers. Because the game did not have a specific release date, GameStop made the decision to remove the game from our system. The Last Guardian will be reinstated for pre-order when a firm launch date is known."

Update: GameStop has confirmed that its information about The Last Guardian's cancellation was incorrect. The company issued the following statement: "The Last Guardian has not been cancelled by Sony as we incorrectly stated in an automated call to reservation customers. Because the game did not ...

#thelastguardian Customers of the world's largest dedicated video game retailer were shocked today when an automated phone call went out declaring the cancellation of Team Ico's eagerly-anticipated PlayStation 3 exclusive The Last Guardian. Say it isn't so, Sony! More »

According to several GameStop customers and employees, The Last Guardian has been removed from GameStop's computer system and possibly canceled. Clerks at several stores confirmed that the game was no longer listed among titles that were coming soon and several customers of the store have received calls telling them that the game had been canceled. Blogger Darren Hupke even recorded the message. A search of the retailer's web site also shows no trace of the game.

For the moment we're without official confirmation, so we've got our fingers crossed that this is just a clerical error. Of course, with the recent departure of Fumito Ueda, we can't say this would come as a complete surprise (despite Ueda being "committed to completing" the game).

We've reached out to Sony and the company is checking into it, we'll let you know what we hear.

The real news, of course, is that Sony is publicly promising The Last Guardian will be finished ... at some point. The respected creative force behind the project, Fumito Ueda, is "committed to completing" his third major game with Sony on a contract basis. Sony confirmed his departure with Gamasutra, concluding a swirl of rumors from last month.

The Last Guardian has yet to receive a solid release date after being bumped out of holiday 2011. "I sincerely apologize to all the customers who have been waiting for 'The Last Guardian' for so long, but I beg for your patience," Ueda said in April. "I will also announce the new release timing at a later time."

The game's other notable departure, Executive Producer Yoshifusa Hayama, has joined social gaming studio Bossa Studios. Ueda hasn't provided a clear indication of his post-Guardian future yet, giving us enough time to envision dream team-ups with Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51, or Shinji Mikami at the Zenimax-owned Tango. Who's going to say no to Mr. Shadow of the Colossus?

#sony Fumito Ueda, the driving force behind both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, has confirmed that he is no longer employed at Sony. More »

The Last Guardian is one of PlayStation 3's most anticipated exclusives. From the minds of the highly respected Team ICO, the internal team at Sony's Studio Japan responsible for the PS2 smash hits ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian has hit a few roadblocks since it was revealed back in 2009...

The employment status of The Last Guardian designer Fumito Ueda is still in question, but we have received official word that another producer on the title has departed from Sony. Executive producer Yoshifusa Hayama has left Sony to join UK social game developer Bossa Studios as creative director.

Hayama was a VP at Sony Computer Entertainment from 2007 until his departure (according to his LinkedIn profile), credited on a variety of PS3, PSP and Vita projects including LocoRoco 2, The Eye of Judgment, and even the Torne DVR project. He previously worked at Sega's AM2 division, Square Enix, EA, and then Sumo Digital -- which helps explain his connection to the UK game industry.

"The future of gaming is definitely online and thanks to recent developments with Flash 11, there is no reason why a social game can no longer be as visually stunning and as compelling as the big console titles," Hayama said in the announcement of his appointment (after the break). He added that Bossa plans to bring games with "3D elements" to Facebook and other social networks.

#thelastguardian Is Yoshifusa Hayama the latest Last Guardian casualty? The former Sony Computer Entertainment Vice President and Last Guardian executive producer has left the company. More »

The executive producer of The Last Guardian, one of the most anticipated PlayStation 3 games, has left Sony to work for a Facebook game developer...

PlayStation 3 gamers were met with some extremely bad news last week when rumors surfaced that Fumito Ueda has left Sony. Ueda is a famous game creator best known for two PlayStation 2 exclusives from Team ICO: ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. His team's follow-up, The Last Guardian, is a PlayStation 3 exclusive that's been in development for an exceptionally long time, one that has been previously delayed as well...

#thelastguardian The Last Guardian creator Fumito Ueda took to Twitter earlier today to reassure fans that he is still hard at work on his game. More »

Ueda leaving Sony would cast serious doubt on the ultimate fate of The Last Guardian.

“No comment” sometimes means more than “no comment.”

Eurogamer reported this morning that Sony designer Fumito Ueda, currently working on The Last Guardian for PlayStation 3, has left the company to finish his work on that project as a freelancer.

Ueda is known for designing the emotionally-charged Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, both of which just had high-definition revamps released in a rather swank collection.

Sony has trotted out the usual line about now commenting on rumors and speculation, but if Ueda was still working at Sony, it’s strange that Sony wouldn’t want to stamp out this rumor right away.

The Last Guardian has been delayed several times, and is tentatively slated for a 2012 release. If this report is true, it's unclear how or if it would impact the game's development.

The developer has not disappeared from the Internet, however, and updated his Twitter account as recently as a few hours ago. He has not commented on the reports regarding his status at Sony.

Apparently, The Last Guardian creative lead and Team Ico head Fumito Ueda has quit Sony and is working on Team Ico's latest project as a freelancer. Eurogamer is reporting as much, saying that Ueda's departure from the team has accentuated the ever-growing delay of the project's launch.

The Last Guardian was pushed out of a "holiday 2011" release window earlier this year, and the development team were said to be moving offices this past summer, getting up close and personal with SCE's main HQ. Requests to Sony for comment have gone unreturned as of publishing.

#thelastguardian The man behind beloved games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and one of the lead developers of upcoming spiritual sequel The Last Guardian no longer works at Sony, according to a rumor reported by Eurogamer today. More »

Fumito Ueda, creator of The Last Guardian, may have left Sony. According to Eurogamer, Ueda will finish the game in a freelance capacity before moving on to personal projects...

#ico Next week's ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection packs in a few bonuses for fans of Team ICO's work. If the high-def makeover of these two PlayStation 2 classics isn't enough for you, how about bonus footage of the scrapped NICO? More »

The North American box art for the ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection is ... not super great. We're no graphic designers or anything, but we do prefer our game cases to be a tad less hideous than that. Fortunately, the flipside of that cover plays host to a much more appealing vision: A stylish representation of the Japanese and European cover for ICO, and a slightly modified version of the European version of Shadow of the Colossus -- neither of which are obstructed by gaudy frames or signage.

We hope the inclusion of this good-looking cover is enough to fill you with goodwill towards Team ICO, because this next part certainly won't: PlayStation Blog has revealed that The Last Guardian won't appear at the Tokyo Game Show. The blog explains, "we can assure you that Ueda-san and the rest of the development team are hard at work to bring his lofty vision to life and deliver the very best gaming experience possible." We just hope they can do so before the heat death of the universe.

#thelastguardian We really should be getting used to its absence by now, but confirmation that Team ICO's next big action adventure game, The Last Guardian, won't be making an appearance at next week's Tokyo Game Show is still a giant bird-cat-thing-sized bummer. More »

It’s been a while since we’ve updated you on the remastered ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, but we did want to remind you about its upcoming launch on September 27th! As a special treat, we’re proud to unveil the final box art and inside packaging for the collection, depicting stylized artwork from both titles. In addition to full 1080p HD, stereoscopic 3D support, and 7.1 surround sound, this re-release contains a ton of exclusive bonus footage and behind-the-scenes content that will await you on September 27th. Full details are available here: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/15/ico-and-shadow-of-the-colossus-collection-bonus-content-trophies-revealed/

Additionally, we wanted to confirm that The Last Guardian is not on the schedule for this year’s Tokyo Game Show. However we can assure you that Ueda-san and the rest of the development team are hard at work to bring his lofty vision to life and deliver the very best gaming experience possible.

Even though Fumito Ueda keeps saying otherwise, that bird creature thing's gonna die at the end. And we'll cry.

Sony was supposed to show off The Last Guardian at the Game Developers Conference early this year, but the company canceled those meetings at the last second. We expected the next project from Fumito Ueda and Team ICO at E3 in some form, but The Last Guardian was a no-show again.

While it's impossible to say when we'll actually be playing The Last Guardian, Sony's promising another look at its perpetual development when the Shadow of the Colossus and Ico high-definition combo disc arrives next month.

The PlayStation Blog doesn't specify how much we'll see, only that a 12-minute video feature about Team ICO will include "exclusive never-before-seen footage of The Last Guardian." Prepare to slowly scrub through that video, folks!

At this point, though, fans (i.e. me) will take what we can get.

The combo pack arrives on September 27.

There is "Bonus Content" in the new September 27-dated PlayStation 3 prettier versions of PlayStation 2 classics Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Yay! It mostly involves dynamic PS3 themes and videos. Oh. Some of the video is about the games' spiritual sequel, the long-awaited The Last Guardian. Hopes raised, by the official PlayStation Blog! More »

Studio head Fumito Ueda of Team ICO (the folks behind the much-awaited PS3 title The Last Guardian) tweeted that the developer is moving offices in Japan this week, into Sony Computer Entertainment's main building in the Shinagawa ward of Tokyo. Ueda said that the move was part of a "major reformation of our development environment," designed to set up Team ICO for even bigger and better things in the future.

Here's hoping the move goes well. Just be sure, guys, that the first box you open says The Last Guardian on it, so you can get that title out and into our hands. That box that says "Failed Colossus Ideas?" That one you can leave taped up for the time being.

When appointments to see Team ICO's The Last Guardian at the Game Developers Conference this year were cancelled without warning, maybe we should have seen this coming: The Last Guardian and HD releases of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, bundled into a collection, have been delayed. Neither game will be hitting in their respective release windows of winter and spring 2011. Even worse: a new release window hasn’t been set.

This news comes via a posting on the official PS blog, which also carried a message from Team ICO’s game director, Fumito Ueda, amounting to “sorry about the delay, but we need more time for polish.”
     

Perhaps it's best that we don't hasten the inevitable, tragic death of a majestic creature or its adventurous boy companion. Sony has announced a worldwide delay for The Last Guardian, the third of Team ICO's wistful adventures and the first to debut on PlayStation 3.

In a statement on the PlayStation Blog, creative director Fumito Ueda says The Last Guardian had to be bumped out of its original holiday 2011 launch window "to provide more challenging and better quality of content to users and to fulfill First Party Studio's obligations." He assures readers that the development team is working at a "fast pace," while ensuring a "First Party Studio" level of quality. "I sincerely apologize to all the customers who have been waiting for "The Last Guardian" for so long, but I beg for your patience," he said. "I will also announce the new release timing at a later time."

Please, Mr. Ueda, there's no need to beg. We understand, and appreciate your dedication to -- what's this? The ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection has also been pushed out of Spring 2011? So ... whoa.

UEEEEEDDDAAAA!!!!!

#bummer Sad news out of Sony tonight, as Team Ico boss Fumito Ueda sends word that his studio's upcoming PS3 game The Last Guardian, along with the HD re-releases of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, have all been delayed. More »

SCEA tonight confirmed it has delayed the release of The Last Guardian and Ico & Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection for PlayStation 3. Both titles were originally scheduled for release this year -- Spring 2011 for the Collection and Holiday 2011 for The Last Guardian...

The Last Guardian is one of the most exciting games scheduled to arrive on the PlayStation 3. Developed by the same brilliant team that designed Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, it looks to continue the team's tradition of delivering something that is unflinchingly emotional...

More scenes from the third game in the series arrive to help make the wait for its release just a bit more bearable!