Bethesda released a statement yesterday, confirming that Prey 2 hasn't been cancelled and is still on the cards for release. It won't see launch this year however, which could be down to rumours that development on the FPS has reportedly been suspended since November 2011.

An anonymous source close to Shacknews has revealed that the work hiatus on Prey 2 is due to contract negotiations between developer Human Head and Bethesda parent company Zenimax. The developer apparently stopped work on the game in an attempt to broker a better deal, which in turn saw staff being laid off. Human Head had planned to rehire those staff if the contract was resolved favourably.

The future of Prey 2 had since been uncertain, as negotiations "quickly soured" around March. Zenimax declined to shed any light on the subject however, beyond yesterday's statement, telling Shacknews, "we aren't commenting on the game's development beyond what was said in the statement that was released..."

Bethesda's statement released yesterday claimed that "the delay is due to the fact that game development has not progressed satisfactorily this past year, and the game does not currently meet our quality standards". Whether Human Head will be kept on board as Prey 2's developer is uncertain, but it's entirely possible that development duties could change hands.