With mere days between now and the PlayStation 4’s reveal on February 20, Fumito Ueda – former lead designer and director behind ICO and Shadow of the Colossus – has broken silence on his role with oft-delayed The Last Guardian.
In a statement on his personal site, Ueda states: "I left Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio some time ago to pursue my creative passions. Nevertheless, I continue working on THE LAST GUARDIAN as a freelance contributor. While it’s been a long time coming, THE LAST GUARDIAN remains under my creative supervision and is still in development by an incredibly talented team."
While Ueda declined to offer any information about The Last Guardian – which is now reached Bigfoot levels of mystery – he did say that the onus of announcement lies with Sony. "I should also mention that details regarding THE LAST GUARDIAN’s release is solely decided by Sony Computer Entertainment, not myself," he informed. "Please keep an eye out for their official announcement."
Next to nothing has been said about The Last Guardian since its E3 2009 trailer wowed us, but at last Ueda is fully committed to the project and other creative endeavors. "Moving forward, it is my intent to continue my involvement with THE LAST GUARDIAN project, as well as pursue new creative projects with a fresh perspective," he said. "As I rekindle my passions as a creator, I look forward to seeing where it will take me, and I deeply appreciate your support during this transition."
It’s great to hear that The Last Guardian isn’t dead yet, but does Ueda passing the buck to Sony indicate a not-so-far-off reveal? Sony could use the PlayStation Meeting on February 20 to showcase the game as a PS4 launch title, but like with many other rumors circulating the internet, we’ll have to play the waiting game.