Raven Blade gets the ax

Nintendo of America has informed GameSpot that the upcoming GameCube RPG, Raven Blade, which was being developed by Austin, Texas-based Retro Studios, has been officially canceled. As a result of the game's cancellation, the development studio has reallocated its resources and has laid off an unspecified number of employees. According to an NOA spokesperson, Retro is currently focusing its resources entirely on Metroid Prime for the GameCube.

"Raven Blade has been canceled," Nintendo of America said in an official statement. "It was a business decision and was made clearly based on the need to focus on Metroid and to ensure that it is a great game. We wanted to consolidate the resources that would have been needed to finish Raven Blade."

Raven Blade, which was shown only in video form at this year's E3, puts the player in the role of a sword-wielding medieval knight who must battle dragons and demons. It was one of the first projects initiated by Retro Studios.