"Something definitely went down at Retro last Friday that made a number of folks not too eager to head back in to the office today. An office that they may not be occupying for much longer," reads a tersely worded post at Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars, a rumor-mill that receives views from millions of gamers and game journalists alike. But Surfer Girl, who, incidentally, may not be of the feminine persuasion, or, indeed, even human, doesn't peddle baseless scuttlebutt. Somewhere, deep down, her posts are backed by the mighty forces of truth.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that one of her/their/its rumors recently came true, but why, of all rumors, did it have to be this one? According to Shacknews, Nintendo first-party (thanks, Denni) studio Retro Studios, developer of such hits as Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 3...and Metroid Prime 2, is bleeding key members -- and not willingly, based on Surfer Girl's insider info. Both Shacknews and Surfer Girl reported that design director Mark Pacini, art director Todd Keller, and principal technology engineer Jack Mathews were escorted off Retro's grounds on Friday.

This, however, is where Shacknews and Surfer Girl's respective reports diverge. If Shacknews' source speaks with veracity, then Retro Studios is a-okay, and their doors won't be closing any time soon -- well, figuratively speaking, anyway. But between Surfer Girl's initial report and an update stressing the lack of autonomy Retro actually posesses, things don't seem all that rosy at the house that Samus built.

Surfer Girl also quoted a source connected closely to Rare, but the statement was fairly cryptic. "Pretty much no one at retro would agree to relocate at nintendo's behest," said the source, "as asinine shenanigans are typically met with little fanfare." Surfer Girl later went on to explain that the statement was not meant to imply an imminent Retro relocation, but was merely indicative of Retro's attitude towards potential decisions from their bosses at Nintendo. Here again, Nintendo's heavy-handed approach seems to be hurting their relationship with Retro.

What will become of all this? Who knows? Hopefully, when the dust settles, Retro will still be standing proud, working hard on yet another triple-A title. Regardless of the outcome, Kombo will keep you updated.