Scalebound still needs Xbox approval nearly a decade later as ex-director appeals to CEO

Hideki Kamiya, currently studio head and chief game designer at CLOVERS Inc., recently sat down with VGC in an interview and said that he wants Microsoft to revive the canceled Xbox exclusive title Scalebound, but this time he’s directly pleading with the Xbox division’s new CEO, Asha Sharma.

Still a Microsoft decision to make

For context, Microsoft has held the IP rights to Scalebound ever since the company canceled the ARPG, which was in development at PlatinumGames. Scalebound was shelved on January 9, 2017. For the game to get another shot with Hideki Kamiya spearheading the project, Kamiya first needs Microsoft’s approval, regardless of what Kamiya’s studio wants to build. 

Unfortunately, Sharma has made no comments or references to Scalebound since she took over in February 2026. Meanwhile, CLOVERS Inc. is currently working on an Okami sequel. Still, Kamiya insists on reviving Scalebound, but he has only an appeal to make, with no publisher, funding, or spare development slot to back the project.

Not the first time Hideki Kamiya has made this appeal

This isn’t the first time Kamiya has pleaded for a Scalebound revival. For most of a decade, he has asked Phil Spencer to reboot the project on numerous occasions, but to no avail.

Recently, in an interview with VGC, he directed his request to Asha Sharma to revive Scalebound. The interviewer asked:

“This is something we talk about a lot in our interviews, but now Xbox has a new CEO and a new plan. Have you asked Asha Sharma yet if they’re up for reviving Scalebound?”

Kamiya replied:

“Well, no, but now’s my opportunity to once again say that if they want to do it, let’s make it happen! Koyama is on board too. If you could include some footage of Scalebound in your article for Asha, that would be useful.”

Scalebound’s development began at PlatinumGames in 2013, under the direction of Hideki Kamiya. The game was poised to be a hack-and-slash action RPG featuring a carefree, EDM-listening protagonist similar to Nero from Devil May Cry V. It was announced at E3 2014 as a PC and Xbox One exclusive.

A project shelved after failing to meet deadlines

After a dragged-out production timeline, Microsoft ultimately pulled the plug on the project in 2017. According to Kamiya, the game’s format lacked precedent rather than suffering from technical failures, which made it a hard internal sell. In the interview, Kamiya further stated:

“Of course, it’s very unfortunate that the project was ultimately unable to see the light of day, and that is something that even now I still very strongly desire to be able to see through if it’s at all possible, and I’m being one hundred percent serious when I say that.

I mean, obviously, we might not be in a position to do that right this second, but I strongly believe that if you want something strongly enough, you eventually find a way to make it happen.”  

Kamiya believes leaving a largely finished game shelved indefinitely served no one, and he repeated the appeal via CLOVERS Inc.’s own account in March 2025, addressing Phil Spencer, who fielded his request without entering serious talks about Scalebound.

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