Cyan Worlds receives reprieve

As it turns out, reports of Cyan Worlds' death have been greatly exaggerated.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced from recently released members of Cyan Worlds' staff that the developer had effectively closed up shop after completing development on Myst V for Ubisoft. From the game's original announcement, Myst V had always been touted as the grand finale for the series.

Recently, however, murmurs of an 11th-hour stay of execution began to hit the Internet, starting with the blogs of former employees like Myst V production designer Bill Slease.

Now Cyan Worlds founder Rand Miller has confirmed that the company is indeed back in business. "We have managed to step back from the brink--after stepping off," Miller told GameSpot. However, Rand declined to go into any further detail, saying only "There's not that much to say yet."

He was similarly succinct with San Jose Mercury News writer Dean Takahashi. "We've had a reprieve," Miller wrote Takahashi. "Managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat (that I can't give details about yet), so we rehired almost everybody. Crazy industry. It's giving me whiplash!"

Cyan Worlds' official Web site hasn't seen fit to mention anything about its presumed death or apparent resurrection, though the news section was updated Tuesday with word that Myst for the Pocket PC has been nominated for Best Adventure Game in Pocket PC Magazine's Software Awards.