With the nine main Tony Hawk games under its belt, creator Neversoft has relinquished control of the skateboarding series to another development studio.

"It's probably best for the franchise ... it's time for someone else to add fresh ideas to it," Neversoft co-founder Joel Jewett told the Great Falls Tribune.

Instead, the Activision-owned studio will continue to focus on Guitar Hero. Neversoft took over Guitar Hero after creator Harmonix was acquired by MTV in 2006, and has released three entries in the series since. A fourth, Guitar Hero Metallica, is due early this year.

Activision has long hyped the next major Tony Hawk game as something radically different, claiming that the game would be rebuilt "from the ground up" and "won't be your father's Tony Hawk", with frequent reports of a new skateboard controller.

The next Tony Hawk major entry is expected to arrive this fall. Some speculate that the Fight Night veterans at Robomodo are working on the project, as the company announced that it was working with Actvision on a "high-profile extreme sports title."