Source: James Bond fan site MI6.

　　What we heard: The future of the James Bond game franchise has been up in the air alongside the future of its film inspiration. The studio behind the latter, MGM, has been embroiled in bankruptcy proceedings for much of the year, putting the 23rd 007 big-screen outing's release in doubt until the matter's resolution.

　　That resolution finally came last week, when a federal bankruptcy court approved a deal that allowed preproduction of the next James Bond film to begin. The move came several weeks after the release of James Bond 007: Blood Stone. Activision's driving-shooting game was developed by the now-imperiled Bizarre Creations, did not have the support of a James Bond film tie-in, and saw middling reviews upon release.

　　James Bond may be channeling Sam Fisher in the next 007 game. Given the mixed reception of Blood Stone, it was unclear what the future held for the James Bond franchise. However, MI6 reports that the next installment in the series is back on--and in the works at Madison, Wisconsin-based Raven Software, the shop behind Singularity, the Wolfenstein reboot, and X-Men: Ultimate Alliance. According to the report, the new game is in the "early phases" of development and will be of the stealth action variety.

　　The official story: Activision reps declined comment.

　　Bogus or not bogus?: Not enough to go on, but certainly intriguing. What is likely is the next James Bond game will help determine the future of the franchise at Activision. The publisher picked up the series from Electronic Arts in 2006, but it has yet to yield a blockbuster hit. That said, Activision did receive critical plaudits for the just-released GoldenEye 007 for the Wii, although its sales performance won't be known until NPD releases its top 10 game sales for November later this week.

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