Scalebound has been canceled [Updated]

Update: Microsoft has issued a statement confirming that Scalebound has been cancelled. "After careful deliberation, Microsoft Studios has come to the decision to end production for Scalebound," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "We’re working hard to deliver an amazing lineup of games to our fans this year, including Halo Wars 2, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves, and other great experiences."

Scalebound, the Platinum Games action-adventure about a boy and his dragon that was confirmed for a Windows 10 release last summer, has reportedly been canceled. Rumors of the cancellation first surfaced on Kotaku, which reported sources saying that the plug had been pulled following a lengthy stretch in "development hell." More recently (as in a few minutes ago), Eurogamer said that its own sources have reported the same thing.

The relationship between Hideki Kamiya's studio and publisher Microsoft has "dramatically soured" since the game was shown at Gamescom 2016 in August, according to the Eurogamer report. Several senior members of the development team took a month-long break from the project over the fall, but that left development even further behind schedule. That compounded existing technical and timing issues, which ultimately led to the decision to shut it down completely.

Scalebound remains listed on the Xbox Store, and the official website is live as well. The Scalebound Facebook page appears to be gone, however. I've reached out to Microsoft and Platinum Games for more information, and will update if and when I receive a reply; Microsoft told Kotaku that it would "have more to share on 'Scalebound' soon."

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.