It's been four years since Microsoft canceled Scalebound, the action RPG where you control a pet dragon in a photo-realistic fantasy world. Microsoft contracted Bayonetta and Wonderful 101 studio PlatinumGames to create Scalebound for the Xbox One, but the game was canceled without explanation in 2017.
Fans have often wondered what happened to Scalebound. Platinum head Atsushi Inaba told VGC in an interview that "both sides failed" and that Microsoft shouldn't take the blame for Scalebound's cancellation, but he didn't elaborate further. However, a new interview with game director Hideki Kamiya finally sheds some light on what doomed Scalebound.
"It was a big challenge for PlatinumGames," Kamiya told Cutscenes (via Xboxera). "We were working in an environment we weren't used to. We were developing on the Unreal Engine, we also lacked the necessary know-how to build a game based on online features. The hurdles we had to overcome were very big. We weren't experienced enough and couldn't get over that wall, leading to what happened in the end.
"I'm sorry to the players who looked forward to it, and moreover I'm sorry to Microsoft who had placed their trust in us as a business partner," Kamiya added. "I want to apologize both as a creator and as a member of PlatinumGames."
Work on Scalebound initially began in 2013 with a targeted release date of 2016, but it was later delayed to 2017 before Microsoft announced its cancellation in January of that year. A departure for Platinum, Scalebound would focus more on graphics and RPG elements, aiming for a more narrative focus while still retaining Platinum's signature flair for action.
Trailers were revealed at Microsoft's E3 conferences in 2014 and 2015 which generated a ton of interest. Fans have petitioned Platinum to give Scalebound another try, but Platinum has always directed them to Microsoft as it owns the IP.
Although it seems unlikely that Scalebound will ever be revived at this point, fans can take solace in the knowledge that at least a part of Scalebound lives on in Bayonetta 3. The same mechanics that would have controlled Thuban the dragon have instead allowed Bayonetta to control her weird hair demons.