Scalebound was an ambitious action-RPG being developed by PlatinumGames – in partnership with Microsoft – in which players would be able to fight with and alongside a dragon companion through Platinum’s signature style of action and spectacle. Unfortunately, the game was cancelled back in 2017 following 4 years in development. Reflecting on this time, ex-PlatinumGames head Hideki Kamiya has once again offered his thoughts on this ill-fated project.
In an interview conducted by the publication VGC, PlatinumGames founder and ex-head Hideki Kamiya spoke on a number of topics including the announcement of Okami 2, his new studio CLOVERS and more.
While looking forwards into the future, Kamiya also reflected on the past, with the director being asked about the ill-fated Scalebound and what could have been had the project been under a different publisher.
In response to the question “Do you think it would’ve gone differently if you had a Japanese publisher for Scalebound?” Kamiya claimed:
“I do think it would’ve been different. I don’t mean that if it had been a Japanese publisher, the game would necessarily have been completed and released, but I imagine the process itself would have played out differently.”

Kamiya expanded on this: “Japanese companies tend to be more open to new challenges, and I think the conversations would have been more positive, like, ‘Okay, so how should we approach this together?’ For me personally, overseas publishers seem to have a much stronger desire to see a finished product as quickly as possible. If it had been a Japanese publisher, I feel they might have given us more leeway.”
That being said, Kamiya made sure to not throw Microsoft under the bus, adding “We’re talking about this specific title as an example; however, I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding: the failure of Scalebound was ultimately the responsibility of PlatinumGames, myself as director included. But because I have now experienced working with overseas publishers, I feel that if the opportunity ever comes again, we’ll find a way to take advantage of both sides’ strengths.”
Of course, Microsoft has since amassed a bit of a reputation of cancelling games, with 2025 alone seeing major highly-anticipated first-party titles being unceremoniously killed. That said, for many, Scalebound represents the one that got away.
KitGuru says: What did you think of Scalebound’s cancellation back in the day? Did you have hopes that it could be revived? Which cancelled Xbox game are you most disappointed about? Let us know down below.
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Japanese publishers “might have given us more leeway” with Scalebound claims Hideki Kamiya first appeared on
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