Amidst heavy speculation about the blatant similarities in artwork between Limbo of the Lost and such previous games as Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Eidos' Thief: Deadly Shadows, and Blizzard's Diablo 2, the publisher for Majestic Studios' upcoming adventure has made a pre-emptively bold response by announcing it intends to discontinue the planned distribution of the game in North America.

Earlier this week, GamePlasma posted the first comparative screenshots between Limbo of the Lost and Oblivion, and additional resemblances to other games have come to light since then. To date there's been no official statement from the developers, and the legal ramifications of the allegedly-copied designs are unclear at this stage, but Tri Synergy wasted no time in clarifying that it had no previous knowledge of such similarities and would not be releasing the game this summer, either through retail or online outlets as scheduled.

The history of Limbo of the Lost has been a long and troubled one, with the game in various stages of development for about ten years before finally seeming to clear the final hurdle for retail release. Even so, the game's European release through G2 Games late last year resulted only in a few copies available through eBay or from a small Asian retailer, casting doubt about the legitimacy of the release. The deal with Tri Synergy was to be the first widespread distribution of the game, but now its future appears true to its name, once again lost in limbo.