Gun sighted

For months, rumors have been spreading about a forthcoming game from Neversoft. The developer is most famous for the ultra-successful Tony Hawk series. So successful that Tony Hawk publisher Activision bought them in 1999, after which they have toiled nearly exclusively on the popular skating series.

However, speculation has been growing about Neversoft's first non-Tony Hawk title in years. BIG rumors. It began last June, when Neversoft revealed it was beginning work on a next-generation title by placing a job listing on its official Web site for an "Xbox 2 Console Engine Programmer." The position is apparently part of a larger reorganization, which reportedly had Neversoft's dev team split, with one half working on the next installment in the Tony Hawk franchise. The other half, however, would be working to bring Neversoft "other ideas that we want to bring to life."

When the Xbox 360 was revealed last week, the curtain was pulled back on Neversoft's next-gen Tonk Hawk game, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. However, work on the mystery game continued--work that was apparently so impressive that it caused Activision CEO Ron Doornink to say, during an earnings call last summer, it would be "the biggest game of next year."

But in the past few days, the name of that game has come to light. It was first pegged by CNN/Money columnist Chris Morrris, who mentioned in a recent Game Over column that Neversoft was working on a game called Gun for the PSP, Xbox, and PlayStation 2, which would be shown off at this week's E3.

As is often the case, Morris was apparently right--at least partially, anyway. Hidden among the sensory onslaught of promotional media at E3 was a series of posters for a game called Gun from Neversoft and Activision that is due in "Fall 2005." But that date could also mean the game may be in development for the Xbox 360, which will launch in the fourth quarter of 2005.

But while the series of posters clearly IDs Gun's title, publisher, developer, and release window, it does not mention a genre or platform. Previously, Doornink said the unnamed game "is not a sports title, and will continue expanding the studio's development resources." Morris actually pegged that Gun would be a "non-military first-person shooter based in the Wild West."

The posters for the game didn't give any clues other than the game was a shooter. An uninformative video display at Activision's booth, as well as the reps from the publisher, who declined to comment about the game during the show, provided no other information.