Rumor radars have recently been detecting a possible cancellation of Bethesda Softworks and Human Head’s sci-fi open world first-person shooter sequel, Prey 2. Turns out, the game is still in development, it’s just not progressing well enough to ship in 2012 as expected. Here’s the official statement Bethesda released this morning:

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.

Even if the game hasn’t been outright cancelled, BethSoft doesn’t provide a whole lotta optimism with that statement. Could Prey 2 be on its way to becoming the next Duke Nukem Forever? The development cycle sure is inching closer to that mark, with work having begun on the sequel since the first game shipped in 2006.