![Microsoft Cancels Scalebound [UPDATE]](https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/10/nbindg2if0ja1n63msuy.jpg?quality=75&w=640&h=360&crop=1)
Scalebound, the much-hyped Platinum-developed action game that was previously scheduled for Xbox One and PC, is in trouble and may be cancelled, according to several sources.
UPDATE (3:36pm): Microsoft confirmed this afternoon that Scalebound is no more. Their statement to press:
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.
Original story follows:
We expect the official announcement shortly. When reached by Kotaku today, Microsoft sent over a brief statement: “We’ll have more to share on ‘Scalebound‘ soon.”
From what we hear, Scalebound, an ambitious game directed by iconic Twitter blocker and Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya, had been in development hell for a long time. Microsoft first announced the game nearly three years ago, during the Xbox press conference at E3 2014. It rose to the top of dozens of “Most Anticipated Games” lists but was delayed several times.
We hadn’t heard or seen anything of Scalebound in recent months, and it was curiously missing from an Xbox Wire post last week that talked about the future of Xbox One. Microsoft has also removed the official Scalebound page from the Xbox website.
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30 responses to “Microsoft Cancels Scalebound [UPDATE]”
Welp, one of the very few games I was actually looking forward to on the Xbone, sadly none of the other games mentioned that they’re working on sound all that interesting for me, oh well. No reason to buy an xbone this year so far.
Good cheap 4k bluray player 😀
That’s pretty big considering it was meant to be one of the big exclusives designed to make you choose the Xbox One. I wonder what they do with the assets when they get this far into a game and quit. Do they recycle them into new games or do they end up on a usb drive in somebody’s desk?
Most likely the latter.
They can get rolled into another game, the biggest example would be project titan being rolled into Overwatch.
But with a very specific nature of the game it is probably more likely to be bundled up and held unless somebody comes up with a pitch with similar requirements
I’m sure that sooner or later an incomplete build will find its way out into the wild and we’ll all get to see them then. After 3 years you’d assume there would be a fair bit of playable game there, even if it’s no good.
NOOOOOOOOO!
I’m guessing Microsoft realised they were paying for TNMT when they wanted Bayonetta or Revengeance instead. Much as I love Platinum when things click, when they don’t, they’re dreadful.
oh man, this game looked so cool in the trailers, but the main dude with the headphones, he just would not shut up at all. I hope if it does get released there’s a mute button for him.
That’s how I felt about Bulletstorm. Gameplay looked slick and fun, but the insufferable basement dwelling virgin joke stylings made me steer clear.
I thought Bulletstorm was awesome!
Yeah I hear it’s really really good. But i just can’t get past the moronic tone of the characters / world / promotional material.
It would be cool if there was an option in some games to turn off the character voices and replace it with subtitles =P
So it joins Phantom Dust and Fable Legends in the “We showed it at E3 but eeehhhhh we’re over it” pile
Man Fable still makes me sad. Not that Fable Legends was the format I wanted to play it in (even though the graphics / style looked awesome), but because the franchise felt like unfinished business. It just needed one more game to realise all the potential of 1 & 2. Still one of my favourite franchises.
completely agree, I’m not a multiplayer fan but I am a Fable fan so I was willing to give it a fair go. I just find it funny that it was one of MS’s main games they were showing off on promo materials, then *poof* it no longer exists.
It didn’t get much attention from the community and it really struggled to hold an audience in the beta. The most common reaction to it was a knee jerk ‘no, I hate the format, make Fable 4 instead’. The sad part is the game was actually pretty good. It’s in that Star Wars The Old Republic zone where everything about the game was awesome except the reformat that was at the core of everything. Like SWTOR they even did a good job of the reformat, the genre itself was just played out.
Yep thats basically one major cancellation per year
The only game enticing me to the xbone, yay for saving money
Dammit Microsoft! You don’t need less exclusive. Man this generation of games is pretty shallow of variety so far.
I’d argue that this generation of games is HUGE in variety! Just… maybe not on xbone.
Mine has been relegated to the downstairs living room on the shittier TV to be used as a crunchyroll/netflix machine. (And occasionally Warriors Orochi.) It just can’t compete.
Eh it’s just my shallow observation. The most I’ve been excited about this generation has been 1 or 2 new exclusives and everything else is rehashes and sequels or spinoffs or licensed titlesetc etc. Not that they’re bad or anything, I just want to see more surprising games that make buying x console worthwhile and less, “game is cancelled and there’s nothing better coming to make up for it.”
Yeah who wants a new IP anyway. Just keep churning out sequels of everything because they deliver the highest ROI (re-use of existing assets and tools saves a lot of time and money).
After the changes they made to playing character mid dev, I knew this would not be coming. I just hope Crackdown doesn’t follow suit.
This was one of two games I was really keen on this year (the other being Mass Effect), and this news makes me seriously consider whether I should keep going on the Xbone.
A lot of my gaming friends have moved on to PC or PS4, and the multiplayer communities on the Xbone games I play are a fraction of what’s on Playstation (Titanfall 2 MP only really has Attrition now as all other game modes have pretty much zero players in them).
Fact is, I’m probably going to have to stick it out due to being poor right now…heh
Titanfall 2 on ps4 really only Attrition too as the game is largely thought to be a xbone exclusive like Titanfall 1 was.
I wish I hadn’t have bought an Xbox One…
Golly, what a shame..
And yet they released ReCore. Go figure.
Literally the only game I wanted for Xbox at all.