It appears that early rumors about Scalebound, the highly anticipated dragon-based action RPG being developed by PlatinumGames, being cancelled are true. Microsoft Studios confirmed to IGN that development on the game has stopped with 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.
Microsoft provided no word on the possibility of Scalebound seeing life on another console, or whether or not Microsoft would work with Platinum again on future projects.
Rumors of Scalebound‘s cancellation first rose when Kotaku reported that several sources showed the production of the game was having trouble. The game, directed by Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya, had been in development hell for a very long time before Microsoft announced it during the Xbox press conference at E3 2014, more than two years ago. It quickly became one of the most anticipated games at E3, but still ended up being delayed several times. Specualtion on Scalebound‘s cancellation really started, however, when fans noticed that the game was missing from a recent Xbox Wire post about the future of Xbox One, as well as the official Scalebound page being removed from the Xbox website.
This sad news comes as a major blow to fans of the dragon based game, as well as Hideki Kamiya himself, who had said Scalebound was long time dream of his. Scalebound would have been Platinum’s first action RPG and would have featured a unique game mechanic in having Thuban, the “dragon who is bonded to you,” respond to the player character’s actions rather than giving the player direct control of him. The result would have been like a cooler, more action-packed version of the 1996 fantasy film Dragonheart, minus the Sean Connery-voiced dragon.
Scalebound was originally planned to be released during the 2016 holiday season, but was delayed by Platinum till 2017 “in order to deliver on our ambitious vision and ensure that Scalebound lives up to expectations.”