Too Human on track, keeping Unreal Engine

Over the weekend, rumors spread that Too Human had hit a major development snag. Word was the makers of the Norse-mythology-inspired sci-fi Xbox 360 game were discontinuing use of the Unreal Engine 3 in favor of an all-new proprietary engine. The alleged reason for Too Human losing Unreal Engine was that it was not running well on the 360, even though it is the basis for Gears of War and Mass Effect, two of the most visually complex games in development for the platform.

Given the amount of programming work inherent in a game-engine switch, the aforementioned move would have all but assured a delay for the release of Too Human, which is currently slated to ship next spring. The game has been in development for nearly a decade, having first been announced for the original PlayStation and then the GameCube before its current--and drastically different--360 incarnation.

Yesterday, GameSpot attempted to contact Denis Dyack, president of Too Human developer Silicon Knights, for a status update on Too Human. In response, a Microsoft Games Studios rep declined to comment on the matter, given its speculative nature.

However, today, Microsoft reps sent GameSpot a statement from Dyack strongly denying that Too Human was ditching the Unreal Engine or that it was in development limbo.

"Although we do not usually comment on speculation, rumors of Silicon Knights completely scrapping the Unreal Engine 3 on Too Human and massive delays for the Too Human product release are false," said Dyack. "Too Human is progressing very well and we expect that gamers will be extremely excited with Too Human when we next show it."