After several years in development, upcoming action-dragon Xbox One title Scalebound has officially been canceled. Microsoft has released the following 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. For more information on our 2017 plans, please visit https://news.xbox.com/2017/01/05/xbox-closes-milestone-year-in-2016/.
According to Windows Central, the only explanation given for the sudden cancellation was “business decisions”. As of E3 2016 game development on Scalebound was still going strong. PlatinumGames released a new trailer that focused on multiplayer.
But social media and updates for the game quietly slowed down, and stopped completely last September.
Scalebound was to be a third-person action game starring a young man from our world who’s transported into a magical realm of dragons and monsters. The hero bonds with a dragon, and the pair would travel and battle together. The game was officially announced back at E3 2014, and was initially set to release at the end of 2016 before being delayed into 2017.
PlatinumGames is known for making over-the-top action games like Bayonetta and Transformers: Devastation. Their recent titles have not fared very well, however. Star Fox Zero received mixed at best reviews, with a 69% metacritic rating. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan hovers around a 50% metacritic rating, and has since been pulled from digital stores.
News of Scalebound’s cancellation is also bad news for Microsoft, who’s left with a dwindling supply of stalwart 2nd-party developers and a dearth of console exclusives for the Xbox One.
