Splinter Cell Conviction has been taken " back to the drawing board" by Ubisoft Montreal.

That' s according to a report in the latest Xbox World 360 mag. Though Ubisoft isn' t saying anything, the mag says it' s heard that the surprising development decision has forced Splinter Cell back into the festive period of 2009 - or as late as Spring 2010.

Conviction has been in development for some years now, surfacing early last year with combat involving dynamic scenery and crowd stealth gameplay that focused on mixing in with the public in Washington DC - a bit like Assassin' s.

According to XBW, it' s likely that the decision was made after Conviction was outdated by more recent gaming developments - most notably Ubisoft' s own Assassin' s Creed.

Ubisoft' s UbiDays event is due to take place in Paris next week, so hopefully we' ll get an official word then.