Apparently THQ has binned all development on Saints Row spin-off Saints Row: Drive By, originally scheduled to launch on the Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network sometime this year.

The game’s never actually been seen in public, although it was announced back at E3 last year as a Nintendo 3DS game, and later as an XBLA and PSN downloadable title. It was marketed to include exclusive unlockable content for use in Saints Row: The Third, which is due out at the end of the year.

“We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By,” a THQ rep has told Joystiq, following rumours of the project’s demise prompted by its “cancelled” status on THQ creative manager Scott Rogers’ LinkedIn profile.

It’s not yet certain whether the game remains in development for the 3DS, though, with THQ saying only that they have “no further comment at this time”, although it’s not entirely inconceivable that the project has simply been handed over to another studio.