Did BioWare work on Jade Empire 2?
That's what a former employee claims.
It appears BioWare does more than talk about a Jade Empire sequel - an ex-employee claims he worked on Jade Empire 2 between 2006 and 2007.
Rafael Brown, now a project lead at id Software, listed "Jade Empire 2 (360/PS3/PC)" under the unreleased games he's worked on. He also mentioned True Crime 3&4, Gun 2 and Nintendo's Thunder Rally.
That one year and one month Brown spent at BioWare, between 2006-2007, pre-dates the release of Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, as well as the acquisition by EA.
How far along the Jade Empire 2 project was, Brown didn't say; it might have been purely conceptual.
It's a leap of faith to believe Jade Empire 2 would have materialised on PS3, given that BioWare didn't enter Sony's market until late 2009, with the release of Dragon Age: Origins.
The original Jade Empire, a martial arts game inspired by ancient China, was released on Xbox in 2004. Eurogamer awarded a healthy 8/10.
Eurogamer quizzed lead Jade Empire writer Mike Laidlaw recently about the possibility of a new Jade Empire game.
"The thing with Jade Empire is ultimately it's one of our intellectual properties, it's there, and one that we're intensely proud of. It did such a neat job of building this fantastical world," said Laidlaw.
"Currently obviously nothing is announced. It's one of those things that long-term, Jade [Empire] could make a comeback."
"It may," he added, "but we'll see how time goes."