Ready at Dawn readying new PSP God of War?

What we heard: Speaking with GameSpot in May 2008, Ready at Dawn cofounder and creative director Ru Weerasuriya expressed a measure of doubt about whether his studio would return to the PSP. The news came as a disappoint to game-starved PSP owners, considering the independent developer's success in 2006 with Daxter and in 2008 with God of War: Chains of Olympus, arguably two of the best games for Sony's handheld.

Chin up, PSP gamers, as Ready at Dawn may not be done with the platform after all. Joystiq reports today that it has received word from a "trusted source" that Sony has commissioned a new PSP installment in its wildly successful God of War franchise, developed by none other than...Ready at Dawn. While details on the game were not revealed, the gaming blog's source indicated that Ready at Dawn may have something to show at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, which will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center June 2-4.

The situation is entirely plausible. On the developer's own blog in December, Ready at Dawn commented on the recent holiday sales success of Chains of Olympus and Daxter, saying, "Maybe we should reconsider this whole 'no more PSP games' thing because we seem to be pretty good at it."

Ready at Dawn has also said it is at work on two separate titles. One of those games appears to be an original title for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, if a since-removed LinkedIn update by a Ready at Dawn lighting artist is to be believed. The other project, however, is shrouded in mystery, and job listings on the developer's Web site only serve to support an in-development title for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

The official story: "It's all just rumor and speculation at this point."--A Sony representative.

Bogus or not bogus?: God of War is a franchise that begs for sequels, regardless of what platform they may be for. If Ready at Dawn is waffling on its position to abandon the PSP, it seems highly likely Sony would be falling over itself to once again hand off its coveted franchise to the proven studio. Tentative not bogus.