Warner Bros. gripped by F.3.A.R.?

Source: A teaser from an unnamed Spanish magazine, relayed by the NeoGAF forums.

What we heard: Activision took an axe to many of Vivendi's in-development projects in the wake of the pair's multibillion-dollar merger in 2008, and one party happy to scoop up the shavings was Monolith Entertainment. The Warner Bros.-owned studio was able to acquire the rights to its paranormal shooter franchise F.E.A.R., paving the way for the studio to use the acronym for the game's sequel, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.

The purchase also seems to have cleared the way for a third installment in the F.E.A.R. franchise. As spotted by a resident of the gaming-centric NeoGAF forums, F.E.A.R. 3 will be featured in a Spanish magazine next month. In the scan of the teaser page posted by the forum-goer (pictured), it would appear as if Warner Bros. has signed off on the alpha-numeric F.3.A.R. title. Spanish language text accompanying the picture reads: "next issue."

The scan shows what appears to be the series' antagonist, creepy kiddo Alma, who is apparently with child. Also pictured is a gun-toting, long-haired man who may be a member of the First Encounter Assault Recon team. Another man, who may or may not be original antagonist Paxton Fettel, is also shown, having apparently shrugged off a bullet wound to the cranium. The three are pictured above a nuclear blast, with Alma's fetus situated inside the heart of the mushroom cloud.

The official story: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Tentative not bogus. Attempts to verify the scan's origin have proven fruitless, but sales of the past two F.E.A.R. games were strong enough to warrant a third installment. A more definitive answer should arrive next month.