Here is your round-up of the biggest video games news stories from the week, including sad news that's thrown the future's of both the Hitman and Mass Effect series into doubt and two major Assassin's Creed Origins leaks.

There's also the much-discussed screenshot believed to be from Rockstar Games' upcoming sequel Red Dead Redemption 2 but which, as it turns out, is actually from a brand new PC MMO called Wild West Online.

Find out more below, and click through the headlines to read further.

Mass Effect series 'on hiatus' as BioWare downsizes Andromeda studio in Montreal

BioWare's once enormously popular sci-fi RPG series Mass Effect has been put on hiatus following the lukewarm reception to anticipated sequel Mass Effect Andromeda, which launched in March five years after its predecessor.

Kotaku's Jason Schreier reports that BioWare's Montreal studio, which led development of Andromeda, has been downsized, but adds that the team will continue to support the game's multiplayer.

Those left at BioWare Montreal will aid in the development of BioWare's new IP – codenamed Dylan – which is expected to be announced at EA's E3 2017 press conference next month.

Future of Hitman in doubt as Square Enix looks to sell developer IO Interactive

Square Enix has announced that it has split from Hitman developer IO Interactive, which it acquired in 2009. The Japanese publisher and developer has said it is in the process of finding a buyer for the Danish studio.

In a statement, the company said it took the decision "to maximize player satisfaction as well as market potential going forward", adding that it will focus "its resources and energies on key franchises and studios".

Square acquired IO Interactive eight years ago when it bought Eidos Interactive, the studio's parent company. If the Hitman IP resides with Eidos then Square retains the rights to those games, if the IP resides with IO then it leaves with them.

Red Dead Redemption 2 fans duped by 'leaked' screenshot that's actually from an upcoming MMO

Red Dead Redemption fans got very excited earlier this week when a screenshot believed to be from Rockstar Games' upcoming sequel appeared online. However, it's not been revealed that the screenshot came from another video game western.

Wild West Online is an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMO) announced yesterday by developer 612 Games and publisher DJ2, who plan to launch a $250,000 (£194,000) Kickstarter campaign at the end of May.

The campaign is raising money to fund additional features for the game which has been in development a while and hopes to launch later this year.

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Mass Effect Bioware Assassin's Creed Red Dead Redemption 2