I previously profiled Zipper Interactive, a super-hot video game studio in Redmond that develops the "Socom" military-themed game series.

Zipper has been making "Socom" games exclusively for Sony since 1999, doing so well that last year Sony decided to buy the studio.

This week, Sony announced a new game in the series, the online-only "Socom Confrontation," but the developer wasn't Zipper. Instead, the Vancouver, B.C.-based Slant Six Games is making it.

I asked Sony what was going on. Spokeswoman Jennifer Clark said that Zipper has been pulled off to work on "a big project" so the Socom work went to Slant Six. All of this was likely in the works when Sony acquired Zipper. Sony is promising me a sneak peek at Zipper's project down the road, so stay tuned.

Update: 1Up.com says it confirmed that Zipper is working on a separate Socom game. Is that all the developer has up its sleeve?