Microsoft officially cancels Xbox One exclusive Scalebound

After a shaky development cycle and a few too many rumors, Microsoft formally cancelled Xbox One exclusive Scalebound. Microsoft released this statement to press:

"After careful deliberation, Microsoft Studios has come to the decision to end production for Scalebound," the company said in a statement. "We're working hard to deliver an amazing lineup of games to our fans this year, including Halo Wars 2, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves, and other great experiences."

Scalebound, which had been in development at Platinum Games, has had long development cycle, with delays and rumors abound. The game was first announced at E3 2014, with a trailer showing a man running from some manner of beast on foot. Soon a dragon shows up to surround him. The beasts begin to fight and the man joins in, fighting alongside the dragon. It was an impressive trailer at the time and did well to garner hype for the game.

Players would have taken control of Drew and would have been able to control his dragon. There were also co-op elements, making Scalebound look something akin to a large-scale Monster Hunter on consoles, something I'm sure many MH Fans would love. 

Scalebound was looking like one of the must-have exclusives on Xbox One, but the biggest warning sign was that Microsoft never showed anyone, press or public, and running builds of the game. Scalebound was also conspicuously absent from multiple expos. Whenever it did show up, it was barely more than three minute trailers. 

This makes me a little worried for Platinum Games. Platinum has been most popular for their action gun-and-slash games, Bayonetta & Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. They've also hit some low notes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, The Legend of Korra. Still, worries aside, hopes are high that mayhap this cancellation means more of the studio can be reallocated to work on their other PC and PS4 game that's shaping up to be great, NieR: Automata. The free demo is available now on PlayStation Store.