Scalebound Dead

Steve Anderson : End Game
Steve Anderson
The Video Store Guy
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Scalebound Dead

Well, that's about all that needed to be said, isn't it? The newest word out of Microsoft proper is that the open-world dragon battler is officially shut down, canceled in the midst of plenty.

Though there was footage aplenty of the release, there wasn't much in the way of playtesting going on. Microsoft never actually allowed anyone to try the game itself, leaving the gaming public with little more than discussion on the footage available.

Microsoft's statement noted "After careful deliberation, Microsoft Studios has come to the decision to end production for Scalebound. 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."

With precious little to go on, it doesn't exactly come as a surprise that the game was shut down. That sheer lack of information and perspective didn't bode well for this game's release, and we're seeing the brunt of that.

It's a disaster for Microsoft; the company needed all the exclusives it could get to maintain itself as a superior value to Sony, and without this one, the proposition is just a little weaker than it was. That's not good news, and with the sort-of next generation of consoles about to emerge with Project Scorpio, Microsoft needs every cylinder firing. Cancellations don't help matters. Worse, the remaining titles aren't exactly great news either; Crackdown 3 is starting to look a mite pie-in-the-sky, though that can change with the official launch. Sea of Thieves is still slated for February at last report, but that's looking a bit unusual to be a major triple-A release. State of Decay 2 will likely be awesome, but it's essentially an indie title. Not great news for Microsoft on the exclusives front.

Losing a good game by itself is bad news. Losing a good game in a hotly competitive market is worse. Scalebound's cancellation doesn't help Microsoft in any way, and it doesn't exactly help us either.


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