Sony Online Entertainment's The Agency, the massively multiplayer spy role-playing game announced in 2007, may have hit a bit of a development snag, losing key personnel that includes the studio's director and executive producer.
Eurogamer reports that producer Matt Wilson, art director Corey Dangel, and producer John Smith have all defected from SOE and The Agency, setting up their own studio, Detonator Games. Eurogamer also writes of a rumored "reboot" and "rethink" of the PlayStation 3 and PC bound MMO, speculation that SOE reps flatly deny.
We heard a little loose talk at Comic-Con that the game may have been having some development issues, probably related to the departure of key Agency staffers.
The game is tentatively scheduled to hit in 2010.