Scalebound, one of the most anticipated games of 2017 has been cancelled. Microsoft confirmed this earlier in a statement.
“After careful deliberation, Microsoft Studios has come to the decision to end production for Scalebound. We’re working hard to deliver an amazing lineup of games to our fans this year, including Halo Wars 2, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves, and other great experiences.”
Scalebound was a major Xbox exclusive title when it announced. Unfortunately, that was nearly three years ago, way back at E3 2014. Where Microsoft showed off massive, fire-breathing dragon, a Dante inspired half dragon/half human? And of course gigantic beasts and a whole lot of action.
Since then, the game has been shown off at most major Microsoft events, including last year’s E3 press conference. However, for a game that was deemed to be released this year it had been suspiciously absent from Xbox marketing. The news that Scalebound was in trouble was first revealed by a report from Kotaku. The report suggested that the game, which was being developed by Platinum Games and directed by Hideki Kamiya of Bayonetta. Had been stuck in development hell for quite some time. Additionally Eurogamer reports that multiple sources have confirmed that Microsoft and developer Platinum Games have parted ways on the project, before the end of 2016.
Microsoft did not comment on the question of who now owns the rights to the title. Which would go a long way to determine whether there’s any chance the game might see the light of day in the future. If Platinum Games has the rights, it could happen. If Microsoft gets to keep everything, then we can pretty much forget about it.