Although it seemed likely that NHL 2K11 was getting canned by Take-Two, it appears that there still might be hope. A recent ad listing, picked up by a Kotaku tipster, points out that 2K Sports is seeking musicians for the NHL 2K11 soundtrack.

"2K Sports is looking for a band who can provide a song to help round out the NHL 2K11 soundtrack," reads the listing. "NHL 2K11 is the latest in a series of critically acclaimed hockey games, due out in September 2010." Bands that are chosen will receive $3,000 compensation (as well as some nifty exposure).

The posting expired January 20, and it was created January 6, which was well after 2K's announcement saying the company was "evaluating" its sports portfolio.

Yesterday we found out that Take-Two took a pretty big hit this year, losing $137.9 million. Is 2K Sports, a T2 subsidiary, to blame? It's apparent that the poor sales of the company's baseball games is partly at fault for the publisher's financial struggling, and the latest word on the street is that NHL 2K11 is getting canned because of it.

Take-Two published its Q4 2009 fiscal results yesterday, and along with it, a release schedule of games. NHL 2K11 was not included on that list, a strong indication that it's been axed. Chris Littman at The Sporting News’ FirstCuts blog asked 2K Sports about the missing title. A 2K rep made this comment:

We are currently in the process of evaluating our sports portfolio and have not announced any new NHL titles at this time.

That just about puts the nail in the coffin for the NHL 2K franchise I'm afraid. It looks like it's going to be taking the route of the College Hoops series, which suffered a similar death.

[via Destructoid]