It pains us to hear the name Scalebound because it is was of the most ambitious projects for PlatinumGames. Microsoft signed a deal with Wonderful 101 PlatinumGames and Bayonetta to develop Scalebound for Xbox One, but without any explanation, the game was canceled in 2017. Microsoft soon followed up to confirm the cancellation of the game. You may have heard that, unfortunately, Scalebound has been canceled.
Director Bayonetta has big ideas for the game, but Microsoft wants a more moderate idea. Kamiya said at the beginning that Microsoft had high hopes for PlatinumGames, and the studio’s goal was to create a high-quality game that went further in terms of graphics (at least for itself). In an interview with Cutscenes, Kamiya talked about his career at PlatinumGames and his previous work for WiiU, The Wonderful 101, and Scalebound, which was originally intended to be an Xbox One role-playing game but was canceled in 2017.
PlatinumGames Hideki Kamiya has issued an apology to Microsoft and gamers for the evens that led to the cancellation of Scalebound. YouTube channel Cutscenes has a new video out in which, Kamiya explains how Scalebound began development and why it was eventually canceled. “It wasn’t easy for us to see fans getting mad at Microsoft over the cancellation. I’m sorry for the players who have been looking forward to it, and I’m also sorry for Microsoft for putting their trust in us as a business partner”.
During the interview, he apologizes to Microsoft and the people who were eager to play. The Scalebound problem at this stage was repeatedly discussed with both PlatinumGames and Microsoft members, right up to the studio leaders themselves, who said that this was just an unfortunate situation and there were no offenses. Both companies have offered explanations about what actually happened regarding the cancelation but nobody took the sole responsibility.
Since Kamiya spearheaded the development of this dragon-filled RPG Scalebound, he definitely felt the impact of this cancellation, so it’s good to see his studio still completely behind him. It was in April 2020 that Xbox executive Phil Spencer fully confirmed that Scalebound was a dead project and that both PlatinumGames and Microsoft had surpassed it. After rumors last year that Scalebound might return to development, Xbox boss Phil Spencer denied the rumors and explained that the project was definitely dead, adding that PlatinumGames had no hard feelings.
Scalebound went into development somewhere around 2013 with a targeted release window of 2016 but was pushed back one year to 2017 but in early 2017, Microsoft pulled the plug on it. Microsoft and Kamiya seem to have conflicting views on the Scalebound project. Fans begged Platinum to give Scalebound another chance, but Platinum always referred them to Microsoft as it owns the IP.
