Scalebound was once one of the most anticipated games for the Xbox One (and PC). Early trailers promised a grand magical adventure about a hero and his dragon venturing through a tough world together, with the sights and sounds endearing it to many. Scalebound looked wildly ambitious and exciting – but as it turned out, it was seemingly too ambitious in approach.
After being in development for multiple years at PlatinumGames, and even with the backing of Microsoft Studios (now Xbox Game Studios), Scalebound was cancelled in 2017. Since then, it’s become one of gaming’s big “what ifs.” There’s plenty of folks who were enamoured by the adventure, and its loss was felt greatly.
As it turns out, PlatinumGames co-founder and current lead of studio Clovers, Hideki Kamiya, is one of the people who still feels it, and wants Scalebound to return. In a new video posted to X, the Clovers team surrounds Kamiya’s desk and watches old footage of Scalebound, reminiscing about the game’s potential, and its forward thinking.
“Noticed some excitement around Kamiya’s desk…” the account said. “He was reminiscing about the development of Scalebound while watching YouTube videos. It never made it to release, but even now, he still feels proud of it.”
“Kamiya: “I’d love to make it again someday. :)””
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In discussion, the Clovers crew talk about the headphones of the main protagonist, and how that’s now become trendy with the rise of the isekai genre in anime and games. (Isekai typically refers to a plot wherein a protagonist from a “normal” world gets transported into a fantasy land.) Given the reverence shown, it’s clear there are still strong feelings tied to Scalebound, and that Kamiya is still excited by the ideas in it.
Notably, following the release of the video, Kamiya actually retweeted it with, “Let’s do it, Phil.” Seemingly, it’s a call to Phil Spencer, Head of Microsoft Gaming, to resurrect the ideas for Scalebound, and allow Kamiya and his team to work on the project once more.
While that is an exciting prospect, of course, there are so many complex parts to a potential resurrection. There’s the rights issues, in that Kamiya directed the game under the PlatinumGames banner, and he’s no longer with the company. Even if that hurdle could be crossed, it’s likely the game would need to be rebooted entirely, given its age and potential loss of data.
Still, the idea is one that sticks in the mind due to its sheer potential. Scalebound still looks gorgeous in action, with bright ideas and an easy cool backing it. The game certainly deserves time in the spotlight, and while it seems unlikely that it could return, there’s no doubt a resurrection would spark immediate, voracious passion. We’ll just have to wait to see if anything eventuates.
