Rumor: Scalebound Trademark Renewed, Game Getting Rebooted

There are some strange rumors stirring this morning; whispers that Scalebound could still be in the works. Following the disappointing announcement in January that Scalebound had been canceled, fans noticed this morning that Microsoft has renewed the trademark. You can find the filing right here, showing that an extension was granted earlier this month. Additionally, a lone, self-proclaimed insider decided to capitalize on the hype this morning by sending out the following tweet:

Insider Report: Do you remember Scalebound? Development is resumed, led by and entrusted to an important "close" MS team. Info soon!

— X-Rays ♏ (@XRays_Insider) May 18, 2017

"Insider Report: Do you remember Scalebound? Development is resumed, led by and entrusted to an important 'close' MS team. Info soon!" It's not much to go on, and we have no idea who this person is or what their track record is. We admit that openly and freely, and you should take that statement more seriously than this supposed insider's break until we get some kind of confirmation. Still, it is an exciting ghostly carrot on a stick, and we'd love for this to be true.

Scalebound was one of the only Xbox-exclusive IPs that we were truly looking forward to. It was going to be the Platinum Games action masterpiece which revived Microsoft's waning first-party scene and restored the brand to greatness. We're being hyperbolic of course, Microsoft is doing just fine, but Scalebound was a huge deal, and Xbox One owners were devastated to learn that it had been canceled.

There was apparently a vast creative chasm between Microsoft and Platinum Games that ended up souring both parties, leading to the game's cancellation. Eurogamer had reported some issues with the game engine, and repeated failures to meet deadlines. The impression we got was that Microsoft was restricting Platinum's creative freedom and that the game wasn't turning out to be what Hideki Kamiya had originally dreamed it would be.

We have to wonder what Scalebound might become without Kamiya at the helm, and without Platinum Games' magic touch. Can Microsoft truly salvage this IP and turn it into something unique and wonderful? Will we see Scalebound in some way, shape, or form at this year's E3? We'll have to wait and see. If we hear anything else, we'll update you right away. Stay tuned!