MondoXbox

Live your
passion!

Scalebound: Kamiya takes responsibility for the cancellation and apologizes to Microsoft

Since Microsoft canceled Platinum Games' Scalebound project in 2017,fans have long debated the faults of this cancellation, assuming in several cases that the Redmond house was to blame on the fate of this interesting title.

Today it is finally clarified what happened through the mouth of Hideki Kamiya himself, then director of the development of the title in Platinum Games. In an interview with the YouTube channel Cutscenes, Kamiya explained that the cancellation of the game was due to the lack of experience that the team had in creating such an ambitious title, finally apologizing to Microsoft and fans for the ruinous outcome of the project.

Here is the translation of his words:

"Scalebound is a project we had collaborated on with Microsoft. They expected good results from us, and we had to live up to those expectations. Partnering with Microsoft meant releasing the game on the latest Xbox console. I had a desire to make a high-end game. I wanted to do something photorealistic.

Although this was a personal wish of mine, I thought it was also a useful mission for PlatinumGames, to improve our graphics capabilities and reach the next level of modern game creation. So we decided to opt for such a universe.

I've loved fantasy worlds since I was a kid. I have always liked worlds with swords, magic and dragons. When I was a kid, I don't know if people overseas are familiar with these games, but I used to play Sorcerian, Hydlide, all these fantasy games from the classic PC era that I really liked. I always wanted to do something related to those themes. That's how I thought of a world that revolved around a young man fighting alongside a dragon.

However, it was a big challenge for PlatinumGames. We were working in an environment we weren't used to. We were developing on the Unreal Engine, plus we didn't have the know-how to build a game based on online features. The obstacles we had to overcome were enormous.

We didn't have enough experience and couldn't get through that wall, leading to what happened in the end. I'm sorry for the players who were looking forward to having the game, and I'm also sorry for Microsoft who had placed their trust in us as a business partner. I want to apologize both as a creator and as a member of PlatinumGames. "

From Kamiya's words it transpires that Scalebound was too ambitious a project for the capabilities of the Japanese studio, and that they had tried to make the classic "step longer than the leg", unfortunately ending up falling ruinously. A real shame, but now we at least know how it went.