2017 is off to a fairly rocky start for Microsoft and developer Platinum Games. Just two days ago, the two companies announced they were ending their partnership and ceasing production on the Xbox One exclusive, Scalebound. The dragon-slaying game revealed in 2014 was at the top of many people's most anticipated Xbox games for 2017, so it is needless to say there were a lot of angry people.
Although the two companies have been fairly quiet regarding the game since Gamescom, no one really expected this announcement. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer went to Twitter to talk about the decision and said canceling it would be better for fans.
After a small period of silence, Hideki Kamiya and Platinum Games have broken their silence to express their sadness and disappointment regarding the project.
CEO Kenichi Sato expressed his disappointment with the decision, but said fans have many great games from the studio to look forward to!
"We’re sorry to say that on January 9, 2017, Microsoft Studios announced the cancellation of Scalebound. We are very disappointed things ended up this way, especially since we know many of our fans were looking forward to this game as much as we were.
Going forward, we will strive to continue delivering high-quality games to you, starting with NieR:Automata in March, and including products like GRANBLUE FANTASY Project Re:Link and LOST ORDER in the future.
We will keep working hard to meet your expectations and we look forward to your continued support!"
Scalebound game director Hideki Kamiya (Bayonetta, Devil May Cry) spoke out on Twitter after several weeks of silence. The famed creator acknowledged the disappointment from fans and stated he will try very hard to make sure he doesn't let them down ever again.
As you may have already heard, Scalebound has unfortunately been canceled. I'm very sorry to everyone who was looking forward to this game.
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) January 11, 2017
Sorry to bring you such bad news at the start of the year. All I can do for you is to promise to keep delivering fun games.
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) January 11, 2017
I'll work extra hard to never have to let you down like this again, so I hope you will keep watching over us in the future too.
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) January 11, 2017
And…I took time off for my mental health? …Me!?
No way.
— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) January 11, 2017
It's unclear what project Kamiya will move on to next as he previously stated Scalebound was "the biggest game of his career", but we look forward to seeing what the future has in store for him.
