To kick off 2017, some sad news came out that the ambitious game from Platinum Games Scalebound is to be scrapped and not released on the Xbox One and Window’s 10 platforms. While Microsoft and Platinum Games gave official comments that state something along the lines ‘We are fine and will move on from this project’, behind the scenes information indicate major developmental challenges.
Liam Robertson of Unseen 64 was one of the first to report on the games cancellation and learned about the games demise through his research on Wonderful 101. He found out that the game faced major creative differences between Platinum & Microsoft, that major heads of the project were stressed to the point of taking off for a month to think about things, and that the game was facing major engine problems.
I would hazard to guess that the focus on adding 4-Player Online Co-Op was the reason for major development problems, as having four characters running around and four massive dragons could be taxing for the game engine. Liam wasn’t the only one to come out to talk about the project though.
https://twitter.com/ItTimmit/status/818650149119524864
Images compiled by @ItTimmit but originate from @Adsinjapan indicate that the game’s development was really harsh on Platinum. Microsoft withholding pay and making milestones unachievable sound really rough on the studio, something most likely taxing for the games development.
Now that the game is finished and Platinum can move on to other projects, I do wonder if they will work with Microsoft again. After how stressful this has been for some of the studio’s head talent, I doubt that will be the case going forward.
If you never saw Scalebound in action, you can watch this collection of footage gathered into one spot on YouTube.
Liam Robertson: Here’s Way Scalebound is Cancelled; Other Supporting Sources
