What&#39;s Going On With That Crazy, Over-the-Top Brothers in Arms Game?

At last year's E3, lots of people sat up and took notice at Brothers in Arms: Furious 4, Gearbox Studios' radical reinvention of their earnest World War II first-person-shooter franchise.

With bawdy humor and stylized, gratuitous violence, the Ubisoft-published project looked like it was going to be a vast departure from how games set in that era portray combat. Think the video-game version of Inglorious Basterds. But as another E3 approaches, nothing's been heard about the game for months.

Typically, companies lets folks know that they'll be hearing more about already announced titles during the run-up to E3. For example, Gearbox have been making the rounds and discussing Borderlands 2 and Aliens: Colonial Marines while Ubisoft is building anticipation for Assassin's Creed 3 and Far Cry 3.

Yet, neither developer nor publisher have uttered a peep about Furious 4, despite the fact that it was initially supposed to be out in the first half of 2012. Instead, rumors are circulating that it's been cancelled outright. When asked if Furious 4 is still in development, has been delayed or will be shown in any way at E3 2012, Ubisoft responded with the following statement:

We don't have anything to share at this point in time.

Until someone says something definitive about the fate of the game, the dream of throwing bear traps at drunk Nazis during Oktoberfest remains frustratingly out-of-reach. Kotaku has also reached out to Gearbox for comment and will update this story if the developer has anything to divulge about the status of Furious 4.

The trademarks that Ubisoft held on the game have been abandoned, as can be seen here and here.