A Microsoft Spokesperson has told TVG that Microsoft's Gamers Day (soon to start in San Francisco) is showcasing all of the company's major game releases for 2008, strongly suggesting that triple A title Alan Wake (which isn't on show at the event) will quietly slip into the 2009 release window that we all probably knew but hoped wouldn't happen.

Billed as a free roaming, psychological thriller that takes place across six square miles of the town Bright Falls, Alan Wake was originally announced at E3 2005 and subsequently revealed as an Xbox 360/PC exclusive at E3 2006. Since then everything has gone extremely quiet, not even a new trailer in the subsequent years.

The plush visuals, well doctored trailers, and the fact that it's in development at Remedy (of Max Payne fame), clearly frame the title within the triple A bracket. However, given that Microsoft's pride and joy are on show at its Gamers Day (including Gears of War 2), the fact that Alan Wake has been omitted from the hymn sheet clearly suggests that it won't see the light of day in 2008.

Following Microsoft's confirmation that Alan Wake would be shown at GDC 2008 last February (which it wasn't), this latest exception from Microsoft's biggest individual event of the year would seem to cement the game (in wet cement at the very least) as a 2009 release.

TVG has a man in San Francisco and we'll bring you all the news from Microsoft's Gamers Day very shortly.