Scalebound gets cancelled by Microsoft. Platinum's dream game is going up in smoke

Scalebound is going the way of those other giant, scaly things. According to a Microsoft statement, the company has put a halt on development of the dragon-commanding Xbox One exclusive from Platinum Games.

"After careful deliberation, Microsoft Studios has come to the decision to end production for Scalebound," a representative wrote. "We're working hard to deliver an amazing lineup of games to our fans this year, including Halo Wars 2, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves and other great experiences."

Microsoft cited "business decisions" as the reason for Scalebound's cancellation when asked by Windows Central. The game had already suffered delays leading up to this point. According to an earlier report from Eurogamer, the working relationship between Platinum and Microsoft "dramatically soured" after Scalebound's last public appearance at Gamescom 2016 in August.

This doesn't necessarily mean the end for Scalebound. Depending on its arrangement with Microsoft, Platinum Games may be able to take its current work to another publisher. Then the question would become whether anybody else wants to put up enough cash to finish it.

The concept for Scalebound has been with Platinum Games since it was founded in 2006. Admittedly, some of the details were pretty different back then: instead of a dragon and his sword-wielding bro bud, the game was about a little girl who commands an army of dinosaurs (which sounds even more rad, to be honest).

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Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

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