Ueda leaving Sony would cast serious doubt on the ultimate fate of The Last Guardian.

“No comment” sometimes means more than “no comment.”

Eurogamer reported this morning that Sony designer Fumito Ueda, currently working on The Last Guardian for PlayStation 3, has left the company to finish his work on that project as a freelancer.

Ueda is known for designing the emotionally-charged Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, both of which just had high-definition revamps released in a rather swank collection.

Sony has trotted out the usual line about now commenting on rumors and speculation, but if Ueda was still working at Sony, it’s strange that Sony wouldn’t want to stamp out this rumor right away.

The Last Guardian has been delayed several times, and is tentatively slated for a 2012 release. If this report is true, it's unclear how or if it would impact the game's development.

The developer has not disappeared from the Internet, however, and updated his Twitter account as recently as a few hours ago. He has not commented on the reports regarding his status at Sony.