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Industry icon Ron Gilbert (The Secret of Monkey Island) and Hothead Games have been working on action RPG Deathspank for ages now, but it looks like the project has finally secured publishing, with EA chucking cash at them for the rights.

"The team at Hothead Games is a perfect fit for EA Partners. They are a great example of how the EA Partners program continues to emphasize the importance of building strong relationships with the world’s top indie developers," said Jamil Moledina, Outreach Director, Business Development at EA Partners. "DeathSpank is an engrossingly fun and hysterically funny experience, and we are all excited to have the opportunity to help introduce DeathSpank to gamers across the world."

Ian Wilkinson, CEO of Hothead Games added, "We are proud of our independence, but are very excited to be working with EA Partners on a title as big as DeathSpank. With EA Partners handling distribution and marketing, Hothead can continue to focus on what we do best, making great games."

Deathspank is due out sometime this year, although no fixed release date has been set.

Elsewhere, the publisher has also picked up PAX star, Shank.

"As an independent development studio, we always focus on creating great, authentic experiences for players. Working with EA Partners expands our distribution and allows us to bring Shank to a much wider audience," said Jamie Cheng, CEO of  Shank developer, Klei Entertainment. "They have been a fantastic partner and their understanding of the space is incredibly exciting."

The 2D side-scroller is scheduled for a "Summer 2010" release, so that's coming up soon enough.