There’s a new rumor going around that Microsoft could be talking about an Xbox exclusive that was already cancelled, but might be brought back.
In an episode of Xbox Era, Nick Baker explained that he was told by two separate sources that Microsoft is talking with PlatinumGames about bringing back Scalebound.
Scalebound was announced all the way back in 2014. An action game where you play a human character, who then controls a giant dragon, it was intended to be an Xbox One. Unfortunately, a turbulent development cycle would cause PlatinumGames multiple woes in its development. The problems were bad enough that Microsoft decided to pull the plug on the project three years later.
Going back to the rumors, Nick explains that he doesn’t know details on what this would entail. For example, he wouldn’t know if PlatinumGames would just finish the work they already had done, or if they would start over from scratch. He believes that if it does push through, it would be years away, implying it would be on a console after the Xbox Series X|S. But, he thinks Jez Corden of Windows Central heard the same rumors, and so Jez threw out some teasers for it himself.
Last year, PlatinumGames’ Hideki Kamiya detailed the problems the studio had making Scalebound for the Xbox One. Among other things, they were not able to adjust to working with Unreal Engine, and they had no experience making an online game. Other studios were able to get over these hurdles and get all the way over to releasing a final product, but Kamiya admits that PlatinumGames was unable to do so themselves. Overall, Kamiya made clear the responsibility ultimately lied not in Microsoft for cancelling the game, but PlatinumGames for not being up to the task.
But that leads us to an interesting situation for the studio today. They have since had a lot of experience making online games and working with Unreal. Even if Babylon’s Fall was ultimately a failure, PlatinumGames earned valuable experience in its production as well. Of course, their successes in Bayonetta 3, Nier Automata, and Astral Chain kept them afloat and added to that experience.
In other words, PlatinumGames now has the experience that they were lacking when they started work on Scalebound, and they have worked with more partners than Sega and Nintendo, including Activision, Square Enix and DeNa.
While we don’t know if this will push through or what form it will take, PlatinumGames is better positioned to successfully bring this project to completion. I dare say they might even make Scalebound a great action game, as PlatinumGames is known for.
You can read Nick’s comments from the XboxEra podcast, edited for clarity, below.
“You know, Team Ninja did an interview saying “we’d be happy to outsource Ninja Gaiden”, so I just went on Twitter and said, you know what? It’s Platinum Games doing Ninja Gaiden. That’s what I’ve been told. That’s not all Platinum Games is up to.
So what I’ve also been told, a little rumor I’ve had, is that Platinum might also be working with Xbox to try and bring – now look, it’s, it’s very very, it’s early, we’re talking very very early now, but I’ve been told that Platinum is working with Xbox again to look at bringing back Scalebound.
I don’t know what form it’s going to take I don’t know if they’re going to try and put together the pieces of what was left back in whenever it was when did it get cancelled in 2019. I don’t know if they’re going to start from scratch.
The funny thing is I got it from two sources.
I didn’t believe it myself when I was first told, My response in that DM is literally, no way, no way. But then, when a second one came along, I was like well, hold on a second, maybe there’s something to this.”
Source: XboxEra via Tech4Gamers
