Xbox is Not Working on A Revival of Scalebound, According to Head of Xbox Phil Spencer - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 September 2020 / 2,766 Views
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer in an interview with IGN Unlocked was asked about a revival of Scalebound. The game was originally a project that was being developed by Platinum Games in partnership with Microsoft that was eventually cancelled in early 2017.
Spencer said that Xbox Game Studios is not working on the game and he is pretty sure Platinum Games is not working on it. Platinum Games' studio head Atsushi Inaba previously stated that Microsoft owns the rights to the Scalebound IP.
"We’re not working on it, said Spencer. "I’m not at Platinum today, but I’m almost positive they’re not working on it. It’s something we all moved past. It’s not a moment that I see as a high point for me in my role, having to cancel a game that we had talked about for years. But yeah, for the people out there who are kind of thinking that maybe there’s something still in the works, there’s not."
"It’s a tough one, because I have a ton of respect for Platinum, Kamiya-san and the team," Spencer continued. "I feel no ill will, and we talk to those guys. There’s no animosity between the teams. We tried to go do something and it didn’t work."
"I regret that we were as public about what we tried to go do," he added. "I did some learning around Fable Legends, I did some learning around Scalebound, about being public about things before I know that we got a real believable plan and something that I felt in my hands and we’d know was gonna be there.
"We just didn’t get there with Scalebound and with the team, and I say that across both teams. So, I think what you hear — at least when you hear the teams, us talk about it — is that we loved some of the ideas that we were trying to go do. Obviously, we wanted to ship a great game to our customers. Every time we start a game, that’s our end goal. So of course we’re gonna be a little upset that we weren’t able to deliver on our goals with that title."
Microsoft plans to release its next generation console, the Xbox Series X, in Holiday 2020.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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"Money? Eh, take or leave it." --Phil Spencer, probably
A shame. I know it didn't exactly look like a masterpiece but honestly? It had enough of a DMC-feel with a bit more fantasy to it that made it look interesting. It's the only Xbox exclusive that made me interested in an Xbox One.
Nintendo needs to pick it up and finish it.
The thing that annoys me is they are never clear about what the problems were , so we get speculation on whether it was a technical , story driven or their expectation was for a AAA blockbuster but Platinum delivered a platinum style game.
There were internal business issues, rumours believing that Platinum were spending there funds elsewhere instead of Scalebound, pushing its development time back. Both companies did not get along so what ever the true story was, its all behind the scenes. Platinum also made TMNT the game.. there record isn't that great.
Microsoft doesn't have a great track record working with Japanese developers.
Shame.
I wasn't expecting a revival for this title. To much money and little return on it.
Scalebound's cancellation is still one of the biggest tragedies in modern gaming. I don't see Platinum working with Xbox again, but they sold out to Tencent, so anything is possible.
The game was cancelled because it was a 65 metacritic score game in the making. It’s done, it’s dead, let’s move on.
Crackdown 3 is a below 60 metactritic game and it wasn't cancelled. Scalebound at least looked somewhat interesting as a concept and was being made by a studio that almost never disappoints. I'm more than convinced that it would have been way better than 65 meta if it indeed was released
MS has made plenty of shitty products on its own. They don't play well with Japanese developers.
Essay Pro