PlatinumGames’Scaleboundwas one of the most promising games in development for Xbox One, with players controlling a sword-wielding protagonist alongside an enormous dragon, but Microsoftopted to kill the projectin early 2017. However, it appears thatScaleboundcould soon find life on a completely different console.
According toNintendo Insider,Scaleboundis now planned to be revived as an exclusive for Nintendo Switch, presumably with any rights to the project being sold by Microsoft. The report points to Game Informer editor Imran Khan’s claim that Nintendo would bereviving a canceled game. Most players’ first thoughts were likely that this project was a game Nintendo itself had canceled, but perhaps this is not the case.
Nintendo Insider added that it’s not clear whether the game has been completed rebooted or whether it will use development material already completed from its time as an Xbox game.
PlatinumGames’ relationship with Nintendo has grown strong in recent years. Most recently, the company announced the action gameAstral Chainfor the Switch, which is directed byNier: Automatadesigner Takahisa Taura and supervised by Hideki Kamiya. Kamiya had been directingScaleboundprior to its cancellation and was also the creator of the Bayonetta series.Bayonetta 3is also coming to the Switch as an exclusive.
With the Xbox One light on exclusive games,Scaleboundcould have been the envy of other systems’ fans. It blended the stylish action of the Devil May Cry series with role-playing elements PlatinumGames hadn’t used before, and four-player online cooperative play was later announced.
The game’s revival would come just as Capcom’sDevil May Cry 5releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The influence of the Devil May Cry series is clear inScalebound‘s character designs, and the updated version of Nero in the game bears a striking resemblance toScaleboundhero Drew. Kamiya was the director of the originalDevil May Cryback in 2001.
PlatinumGames is also currently working onBabylon’s Fall, announced by Square Enix during its E3 2018 presentation. Due to the success ofNier: Automataand its significance to PlatinumGames’survival as a studio, it seems likely that the company is working on the follow-up as well.
