After not hearing much of anything about Bethesda’s Prey 2, the rumor mill had begun turning about the possibility that the first-person shooter had been canned by the publisher.

However, today comes news that the game isn’t actually cancelled, but will merely miss its 2012 release in order to polish the game a bit more.

In a statement released by Bethesda today, the publisher says:

Development of Prey 2 has not been cancelled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned. 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. Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans. We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want. We are determined only to release the AAA game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule.  

So there you have it; Prey 2 is still in existence, but not for this year.  Here’s hoping the company at least shows off an updated build at E3.