Rumour: Scalebound may live on thanks to Nintendo

Here’s a one from the gossip table. PlatinumGames’ Scalebound, the Xbox One exclusive that wound up getting canned in 2017, may be rumbling back to life as a Nintendo Switch exclusive.

The rumour comes from an anonymous source via Nintendo Insider, though no further details have been provided. Elsewhere, VG247’s Kirk McKeand and Inside Gaming’s Alanah Pearce both report having heard the news through their own networks.

As with any gaming rumour this calls for a good dose of salt, although this claim isn’t completely far-fetched. Nintendo has come to PlatinumGames’ rescue before, funding completion of Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U and Switch exclusive after it was previously let go by SEGA.

An appreciable difference this time around is that Scalebound comes with a load of baggage, having been stuck in development hell while under Microsoft’s wing. The game itself was to be a huge departure for PlatinumGames too, requiring NPCs, villages, a good deal of story, and a focus on graphical realism.

However, that was then. PlatinumGames now has respectable action-RPG experience after working on Square-Enix’s cult hit Nier: Automata. Given the studio’s reputation, their working relationship with Nintendo, and the disturbing lack of multiplayer games featuring dragons, there may be some meat to this rumour bone. It’ll be a great double-whammy for PG fans as well, since we’re all still eagerly waiting for Bayonetta 3.