When Microsoft cancelled development on Platinum Games’ Scalebound, the response was understandably angry. The company’s Xbox One platform hadn’t exactly seen a ton of exclusives and Scalebound was hyped as one of the biggest ever. It also didn’t help that Microsoft was developing a reputation for cancelling its top tier projects and dismantling the teams responsible for them (see: Lionhead and Fable Legends).
So when it recently came up (via NeoGAF) that Microsoft renewed its trademark for Scalebound, there would obviously be some speculation as to its next stop. We won’t burst your bubble or hype it up much because, well, this can go either way.
Companies usually renew trademarks for their properties, even if it seems like nothing is going on with regards to development. Look at the number of years Sega held on to the Shenmue license before Shenmue 3 was announced (that too under a different developer). Deep Down by Capcom is another good example.
That being said, something has to be done with Scalebound sooner or later. At this point, Microsoft may just be biding time to see what could become of it. That doesn’t mean it’s coming back. But it does mean that anything is possible. Makes sense?