Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya has a message for Xbox CEO Asha Sharma: When she’s prepared to make Scalebound, he’ll be ready.
The action-game mastermind and Clovers studio head spoke about his want to return to his canceled dragon IP throughout a latest interview with VGC. It has been a little bit greater than 9 years since Microsoft lastly, formally confirmed it had shut down Scalebound after PlatinumGames introduced it in 2014. Nonetheless, Kamiya mentioned he is all the time prepared to breathe life again into it.
When requested if he is contacted Sharma about Scalebound, he mentioned, “Properly, no, however now’s my alternative to as soon as once more say that if they need to do it, let’s make it occur!”
“[Clovers president Kento Koyama] is on board too,” he added. Kamiya then requested the positioning to embrace a few of what little Scalebound footage was launched to the general public simply so Sharma might have a look.
Kamiya and the remainder of PlatinumGames introduced the now-canned Xbox One-exclusive action-RPG 12 years in the past at E3 2014. Lots has modified since then.
Scalebound finally returned for gamescom 2015, one yr later, however then principally went quiet. A delay to 2017 then stoked fears that the undertaking could also be in bother, with a follow-up report then suggesting it could possibly be in bother earlier than Microsoft delivered the ultimate blow.
Though Kamiya now not works at PlatinumGames, he confirmed he had moved on to assist kind Clovers in late 2024. Though that workforce is heads down engaged on Okami 2, it doesn’t suggest he is not hoping to return to Scalebound in the future. It is a undertaking he and different PlatinumGames devs have expressed curiosity in returning to loads of occasions through the years. Now, he is hoping Sharma may also help make it occur.
Throughout his interview with VGC, Kamiya recalled a latest dinner he had with a number of the Scalebound workforce. He famous the canceled online game wasn’t the one factor they talked about, however “it did come up a couple of occasions,” they usually “all remembered how enjoyable it was to work” on it.
“Clearly, there have been some robust occasions as nicely, however the truth that folks nonetheless look again on that point with numerous enjoyable is one thing that I discover very gratifying because the director of the undertaking,” Kamiya defined. “After all, it’s very unlucky that the undertaking was unable to see the sunshine of day finally, and that’s one thing that even now I nonetheless very strongly want to have the opportunity to see by if it’s all attainable, and I’m being a hundred percent critical after I say that.
Kamiya mentioned Clovers “won’t be ready” to work on Scalebound “proper this second,” nevertheless it’s nonetheless one thing he is searching for out. He went so far as to say, “I strongly imagine that if you would like one thing strongly sufficient, you ultimately discover a method to make it occur.”
“That’s the case with Okami proper now,” he continued, “the place even in any case these years, the chance as soon as once more offered itself, and I hope that would be the case with Scalebound sooner or later as nicely.”
Like Kamiya, Xbox has gone by its personal modifications lately. Sharma took over for Phil Spencer as CEO in February of this yr, main to a waterfall of snappy modifications at Microsoft’s gaming wing which have been obtained each positively and negatively by followers. For instance, the corporate introduced final week it could permit gamers to digitize their bodily video games. That transfer specifically appears to have gone over nicely with followers, nevertheless it’s performed little to cushion the blow that got here after Xbox introduced it could be shedding 3,200 workers and shedding studios like Double Nice and Ninja Concept in July.
Whether or not Sharma and the remainder of Xbox have room to make Scalebound occur stays to be seen. Whereas we wait to see what the long run holds, you possibly can learn what Kamiya had to say in regards to the sport in 2021.
Michael Cripe is a contract author with IGN. He’s finest identified for his work at websites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Ensure to give him a comply with on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).