Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said there’s “currently nothing to say” about PlatinumGamesâ publicly stated desire to revive its canned exclusive Scalebound.
Scalebound has arguably become one of the most infamous projects in Xbox history. Announced in 2014 for Xbox One, the game was planned as a character action title by Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya. But following a lengthy period in development, the game was cancelled in 2017.
Platinum and Xbox leadership have been continually asked about the project since, but speculation reached a head in February when Kamiya told IGN Japan that heâd like to open discussions with Microsoft over the possibility of officially reviving the project.
Kamiya said: âWe did a lot of work on it, and itâs no use Microsoft keeping the game in its current form, so weâd like to do something about it (laughs). Phil! Letâs do it together!â He later told VGC: âNo, itâs not a joke: Iâm totally serious about itâ.
Now, Xbox boss Spencer has been asked about the potential revival. Asked by Game Watch if a revived Scalebound was possible, Spencer replied, with a smile (translated for VGC by Robert Sephazon): “Thereâs currently nothing to say about Scalebound.â
Previously when asked about the possibility of a revival for the Platinum title, Spencer gave a more explicit answer. Â âFor the people out there thinking that maybe thereâs something still in the works: thereâs not,â he said, when asked about Scalebound in 2020.
Both Xbox and PlatinumGames have previously given explanations of what happened with Scalebound, but Platimumâs Kamiya has recently moved to take sole responsibility for the projectâs cancellation.
In a video on the Cutscenes YouTube channel published last November, Kamiya blamed Platinumâs inexperience working with Unreal Engine and online features as core reasons for Scaleboundâs cancellation.
Asked why he felt that heâd have better luck working on Scalebound a second time around, Kamiya told VGC earlier this year that he believed Platinum had grown since its development ended.
âNothing super surprising [has changed], just time. As a company, weâve gradually grown, gained experience in terms of technology and more people,â he explained.
âAt the time when we were making Scalebound, there was a lot that we couldnât deliver on and that was hard for me. It was hard to fail like that. When the project went away, it wasnât like the very next day I was thinking, âIâve got to try againâ. I needed a rest.
âBut time passes, things change, things are different now. Iâve had some time to think and yeah, Iâd like to try making Scalebound again. Thatâs my feeling.â
Discussing Scalebound in 2020, Xboxâs Spencer said that he had no hard feelings for PlatinumGames.
âItâs a tough one because I have a ton of respect for Platinum, [Hideki] Kamiya-san, the team and I feel no ill will,â he said at the time. âWe talk to those guys: thereâs no animosity between the teams. We tried to go do something and it didnât work, and I regret that we were so public about what we tried to go do.â
Mrhappytrigers on September 17th, 2022 at 22:48 UTC »
The dream team scenario would be Platinum Games and Capcom working together to make this game. I would lose my mind with how epic it would be with Platinum's intense action pack games would be with Capcom's DMC dev team and Monster Hunter dev team working together for a game like Scalebound. They could make a solid action-adventure game with some light RPG elements with open level designs that meshes well with small scale battles, and the large scale epic monster battles.
Lackerbawls on September 17th, 2022 at 19:49 UTC »
“Currently nothing to say” Don’t do that. Don’t give me hope.
dirty_dom4 on September 17th, 2022 at 19:09 UTC »
They really jerked our chain on this one. I remember watching the trailer and being so hyped about it.