Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya has a message for Xbox CEO Asha Sharma: When she’s able 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 slightly 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 able to breathe life again into it.
When requested if he is contacted Sharma about Scalebound, he mentioned, “Effectively, no, however now’s my alternative to as soon as once more say that in the event that they need to do it, let’s make it occur!”
“[Clovers president Kento Koyama] is on board too,” he added. Kamiya then requested the location to incorporate a few of what little Scalebound footage was launched to the general public simply so Sharma may 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. Rather a lot has modified since then.
Scalebound ultimately returned for gamescom 2015, one 12 months later, however then largely went quiet. A delay to 2017 then stoked fears that the challenge could also be in hassle, with a follow-up report then suggesting it may very well be in hassle earlier than Microsoft delivered the ultimate blow.
Though Kamiya not works at PlatinumGames, he confirmed he had moved on to assist kind Clovers in late 2024. Though that group is heads down engaged on Okami 2, it doesn’t suggest he is not hoping to return to Scalebound sooner or later. It is a challenge he and different PlatinumGames devs have expressed curiosity in returning to loads of instances over time. Now, he is hoping Sharma can assist make it occur.
Throughout his interview with VGC, Kamiya recalled a latest dinner he had with a number of the Scalebound group. He famous the canceled online game wasn’t the one factor they talked about, however “it did come up a number of instances,” and so they “all remembered how enjoyable it was to work” on it.
“Clearly, there have been some robust instances as properly, however the truth that folks nonetheless look again on that point with a whole lot of enjoyable is one thing that I discover very gratifying because the director of the challenge,” Kamiya defined. “In fact, it’s very unlucky that the challenge was unable to see the sunshine of day in the end, and that’s one thing that even now I nonetheless very strongly want to have the ability to see by if it’s all doable, and I’m being a hundred percent severe after I say that.
Kamiya mentioned Clovers “may not be ready” to work on Scalebound “proper this second,” but it surely’s nonetheless one thing he is searching for out. He went so far as to say, “I strongly imagine that if you need one thing strongly sufficient, you ultimately discover a option to make it occur.”
“That’s the case with Okami proper now,” he continued, “the place even in spite of everything 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 properly.”
Like Kamiya, Xbox has gone by its personal modifications lately. Sharma took over for Phil Spencer as CEO in February of this 12 months, resulting in a waterfall of snappy modifications at Microsoft’s gaming wing which were acquired each positively and negatively by followers. For instance, the corporate introduced final week it might enable gamers to digitize their bodily video games. That transfer particularly appears to have gone over properly with followers, but it surely’s carried out little to cushion the blow that got here after Xbox introduced it might be shedding 3,200 employees and shedding studios like Double High quality and Ninja Idea 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 longer term holds, you’ll be able to learn what Kamiya needed to say concerning the recreation in 2021.
Michael Cripe is a contract author with IGN. He is finest recognized for his work at websites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. You’ll want to give him a comply with on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
