Contract dispute said to be cause of Prey 2 delay

Anonymous sources are claiming that a contract dispute is behind the delay of Prey 2.

Bethesda yesterday dispelled rumours that the game had been canned, though did concede that it had been delayed to some point in 2013.

Now ShackNews claims to have word from a secretive insider that the reason for the delay was that developer Human Head was unhappy with the terms of its contract with Bethesda owner ZeniMax.

Work on the game was stopped in November, it is claimed, as Human Head tried to negotiate better terms. Jobs were lost amidst the talks that followed and a resolution is yet to be agreed.

Development of Prey 2 has not been cancelled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned,” an official Bethesda statement said. 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.

Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans. We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want.

We are determined only to release the triple-A game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule.”