Bad news for fans of the Rune Factory series in Europe: MarvelousAQL's EU branch issued a statement to Eurogamer announcing that the European release of Rune Factory 4 has been canceled. The simulation/RPG was originally set to hit 3DS in Europe this spring.

The publisher didn't offer a reason for the cancelation, but it could be related to the previously reported closure of Rune Factory developer Neverland. Here's what MarvelousAQL Europe had to say about it:

We regret to inform you that the European release of Rune Factory 4 for Nintendo 3DS has been cancelled.

While MarvelousAQL has made every effort to secure the title's release for this territory, it is, unfortunately, not possible to do so at this time.

MAQL and MAQL Europe would like to thank everyone for their support and enthusiasm for their European releases. Please look forward to announcements on new MAQL titles over the coming months.

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Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. His blog can be found at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter at @Moldilox.