In an announcement sure to disappoint the many fans awaiting A Vampyre Story, bad brain entertainment announced today that they have discontinued their partnership with the game's developers, Autumn Moon Entertainment.

While citing business and publishing disagreements as the reason for the decision, the parting seems amicable, as bad brain wishes AME "all the best on A Vampyre Story and hope that they will soon be founding Autumn Moon Entertainment and find a more fitting publisher for their game and their way to work."

Autumn Moon CEO Bill Tiller was equally magnanimous in confirming today's news, stating that "we would like to thank BBE for all the publicity they brought to our company and our game. We wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors."

So what does this mean for one of the most anticipated adventures in years? Fortunately, the news is not all bad, as Tiller assures us that AME continues to work on the preproduction for A Vampyre Story, while talking with various other publishers about funding and publishing for the game.

While expressing appreciation to the fans for their patience and support, Tiller says, "For us nothing has changed. We continue to work on the game at a slow and steady pace, which will move into overdrive as soon as we get fully funded. We apologize for the delay in production and in the release date, but we learn by our missteps, and it all works out for the best in the end."

Despite the setback, there may actually be a hidden benefit to the change in plans. According to Mike Kirchoff, Director of Business Development, AME intends to explore the potential of the portable market, "where the style of gameplay and technology would appear to be an ideal match."

A Vampyre Story on handhelds? It could be, but for now it's all speculation. One thing's for sure: this continues to be a game we'll keep a close eye on in the coming months.