The official story: "We do not comment on rumor or speculation."--Rockstar Games rep. 

What we heard: Back in March, Take-Two Interactive's board was ousted by a shareholder revolt. Since then, it has been unclear what the company's new directors have in mind for the mighty--but mighty troubled--publisher. The first hard evidence about what tack Take-Two will take won't surface for 10 days. That's when the New York-based publisher will announce earnings for its second fiscal quarter, which ended on April 30.

First up was Gearbox's forthcoming shooter based on James Cameron's 1986 sci-fi classic Aliens. Development for the project is apparently well under way. "We're working really hard on that right now," said Pitchford. Sega is publishing the game in conjunction with 20th Century Fox, which owns the film rights.

The executive also revealed some tidbits about the plot of the Aliens game, which is due on "next-gen platforms" in 2009. "Our game's about becoming a Colonial Marine, and looking at it from the Colonial Marines' perspective," explained Pitchford. The Colonial Marines battled the acid-blooded xenomorphs in Aliens, and were a template for the troopers who fight alongside the Master Chief in the Halo games.