After six months of silence, the ambitious Scalebound for Xbox One and PC is officially no more.
Making its public debut during Microsoft’s E3 2014 presentation, Scalebound was one of three console-exclusive major titles in development at Platinum Games; Scalebound would release exclusively for the Xbox One and PC via the Windows 10 Store, with the PS4 and Wii U seeing Nier: Automata (later confirmed for PC) and Star Fox Zero. After a rough gameplay debut at Gamescom 2015, Platinum decided to push Scalebound into 2017 to meet the “ambitious vision” of the studio; fans got a taste of Platinum’s vision at E3 2016 with an impressive multiplayer gameplay demo featuring four players squaring off against a screen-filling monster.
Six months of silence have passed since Scalebound‘s E3 appearance. Following a string of lower-budget licensed releases of both critical and negative reception, Platinum Games and publisher Microsoft have officially canceled Scalebound and are already removing all traces of the title from their video channels. In a statement made by a Microsoft Studios spokesperson, the decision to cancel the potentially groundbreaking title “was not made lightly”:
“Today, I have a difficult announcement to share that affects our fans, Microsoft Studios team and a valued partner. After careful deliberation, we have come to the decision to end production for ‘Scalebound‘. This decision was not made lightly.
At Microsoft, we remain committed to making Xbox and Windows 10 the best places to play games, and look forward to bringing ‘Halo Wars 2’, ‘Crackdown 3’, ‘State of Decay 2’, ‘Sea of Thieves’ and other great experiences to our fans.”
Scalebound may be no more, but Platinum’s upcoming wild ride Nier: Automata is still scheduled to release for the PS4 on 3/7; the PC version has no official date, but is expected to release through Steam later this year.
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