Scalebound, the ambitious fantasy RPG headed up by Platinum Games, is no more. After four years spent in development, Microsoft confirmed its decision to pull the plug on the former Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive just yesterday after “careful deliberation.”
In the fallout, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has now taken to Twitter to address the “difficult decision,” stating that both he and fellow Microsoft brass believe that the end result will be better for Xbox gamers in the long run. Production on Scalebound officially ended on January 9, 2017, though Spencer remains confident in the company’s software lineup for 2017.
@TiC_Podcast Difficult decision, we believe result is better 4 Xbox gamers, still disappointing. Im confident in 17 lineup thats our focus
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 9, 2017
Even with the likes of Halo Wars 2, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, and Rare’s swashbuckling Sea of Thieves cramming up the pipeline, the absence of Scalebound leaves a mighty hole on Xbox One’s roster of console exclusives. Assuming Platinum Games owns the IP, there’s still a possibility that the developer will continue development elsewhere, either by self-publishing or partnering with another company entirely. The online co-op title, one headed up by Bayonetta developer Hideki Kamiya, was dripping with potential, but it remains to be seen whether Platinum is able to strike up a new partnership in the wake of such a disappointing setback.
What’s more, the official Xbox YouTube channel has now pulled any and all videos featuring Scalebound, while the game’s page on Xbox.com now redirects to a static home screen. Alas, it looks like protagonist Drew and his reptilian companion will never see the light of day.