Investigating the Future of Scalebound

On Jan. 9, Xbox One fans were treated to a slice of unfortunate news. Scalebound, an action RPG being developed by PlatinumGames exclusively for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows, had been cancelled.

It was a shocking announcement, especially since most fans believed the game was almost finished and set to come out this year. The reasons for Scalebound’s cancellation are not entirely clear. Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, said it was a “difficult decision” that proved best for Xbox players. PlatinumGames expressed its own disappointment without providing further details, and Scalebound director Hideki Kamiya promised to “work extra hard” so it never happens again.

Regardless of why it happened, does Scalebound have any future left?

Microsoft owns the Scalebound IP, so another company would have to buy it in order to give the game new life. Alternately, Platinum could create a new IP with similar gameplay and ideas. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony decided to pick up the title and make it a console exclusive. This is a completely plausible concept since PlatinumGames, formed out of the remains of Capcom’s disbanded Clover Studio,  previously had a similar situation occur with it's Bayonetta title, one of Platinum’s earliest games that shares many similarities with Devil May Cry’s gameplay. Ultimately when Sega cancelled the sequel, Bayonetta 2, it was eventually picked up and published by Nintendo.

In regard to that, I believe something similar could potentially happen to Scalebound --
*fingers crossed*.

The Scalebound game was intended to be a massive action RPG starring a young man named Drew who formed a bond with a dragon called Thuban. It was to also feature a four-player co-op mode. It was a very different concept from most of Platinum’s titles, but creator Hideki Kamiya suggested that he always wanted to make a game of this caliber.

Perhaps someday we’ll get to see Scalebound, or another game like it with the promised mechanics.