Speculation has been rife in recent months as to whether development on Gearbox Software's Aliens: Colonial Marines has been scrapped, but in the last few days new information has come to light suggesting that the studio is still hard at work on the highly anticipated first person shooter.

With news earlier this year that Sega had cut 20% of its workforce and that Texas-based Gearbox Software had dropped up to 25 members of its staff, fans of the Aliens franchise feared that the shooter would also face the chopping block.There's some good news though.

Gearbox Software or Sega hasn't made an official announcement about Aliens: Colonial Marines, but the official website shows that the game is still in development alongside Borderlands and three other top secret projects. Furthermore, the website states that Gearbox is staffing for "all projects. As Colonial Marines is shown as being among those projects currently in development it would suggest that it's hiring staff for this game as well as Borderlands and its unannounced titles.

When contacted by Joystiq, Gearbox's marketing director, Steve Gibson didn't confirm or deny the latest rumour. "Neither Sega nor Gearbox have ever announced any status changes. We’re not making any announcements at this time beyond that we are recruiting for all projects," he told the website.

So Gearbox is keeping its cards close to its chest, but still, it's encouraging news for those looking forward to the title.

Maybe Sega and Gearbox will wait until E3 in June to confirm that Aliens: Colonial Marines is still on track for its rumoured 2010 release? We'll be keeping our fingers crossed.