Take-Two Interactive has abandoned the trademark on Rockstar Games' previously announced game: Agent. Take-Two is a video game holding company based in New York. Along with 2k, the company also owns Rockstar, the publishing label responsible for the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto franchise and the newly released Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar is currently riding the wave of the latter's success, reportedly set to exceed 20 million units sold by the end of the year. The open-world western adventure has also met with huge acclaim from players and critics alike. Regardless, eyes continue to look to the future - to Red Dead Online and even beyond.

Agent was set to be a stealth-based action-adventure game set in the height of the Cold War. Taking players in to the world of counter-intelligence, espionage and political assassinations, the game was first teased in 2007. The game was officially announced at the E3 conference in 2009, labeled as a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Although fans waited eagerly to see Rockstar venture into the stealth-adventure genre, further updates proved scarce. Regardless, Take-Two renewed the trademark in 2013 and 2014. They also renewed it in 2015, coinciding with the release of an image depicting the game's environment.

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According to GameSpot, Take-Two has seemingly backtracked on that previous commitment, choosing to let the trademark officially lapse. The game was registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, who have updated the trademark to "no longer active". As far as they are concerned, the copyright has been abandoned due to failure to receive a Statement of Use or an Extension Request this time around, despite a Notices of Allowance being issued.

Strangely, however, the information page for Agent remains very much active on Rockstar Games' own website. Given that the game is still listed as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, despite the console having moved on to PlayStation 4 in the interim, it could just be an oversight.

ScreenRant has reached out to Rockstar Games for comment, but as of now it's looking very much like Agent will no longer be making it to market. Then again, it could be a sign that abandoning the game altogether, Take-Two and Rockstar are using the time following Red Dead Redemption 2's release to rethink and restructure it. After all, although agent is a common word in the world of spies and espionage, it has, in terms of games, become almost synonymous with the main character from the Hitman series.

Hitman is, after all, a forerunner in the stealth-action genre of games and did recently release a new installment. The team at Rockstar could therefore be simply looking to avoid any similarities with their competition, necessitating a name change. Whatever the case, players will simply have to continue immersing themselves in everything from catching fish and hunting the KKK - courtesy of Red Dead Redemption 2. And simultaneously hope that the game formerly known as Agent may one day find new life.

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Source: GameSpot