One of the factors in the decision to cancel Scalebound was the opportunity to support another game that contained elements that MS were more interested in instead of shoehorning them into a game that didn't need it (in this case, multiplayer co-op), allowing them to drop the game while having something to replace it. Its well known at this point that almost all MS first-party games have taken the games as a service model with an obvious focus on optional microtransactions combined with more traditional DLC. Scalebound was an old project with developmental issues from inception, greenlit by a Xbox in a much different position than now, and trying to find a way to fit it into the GaaS model resulted in them clashing with Platinum and was probably a large reason why the game seemed to lack any real identity in many of its presentations, unlike many of Platinum's previous works.
But that leaves the question: What game could possibly replace a Japanese-made action RPG with a heavy emphasis on fighting giant ass monsters with and 4 player co-op?
Unless of course, there was a certain series that not only contained a lovely amount of both of those things Scalebound was going for (in a bit of a different setting, however), but also had a history with the Xbox platform in particular. Not only that, but this same certain game series is also made by a Japanese developer, who also has a history with supporting MS with things like timed exclusivity, and more recently supporting the Play Anywhere initiative as recently as last month.
Now again, this is all tin-foil hat level stuff, but earlier yesterday we got a leak (that should also be taken with a large grain of salt) of this little project possibly going on over at Capcom:
Broken Horizon
Two centuries after they were abandoned on the planet of Eden, a group of colonists continue to fight for survival.
Team up in 4 player co-op Mech Suit gameplay and battle the planet's hostile enviroments, human raiders and ever increasing alien threat to control the planet's life-force, T-Eng.
An Action Shooter with Unique Mech Customization
-Upgrade your mech and make it your own by using scrap from defeated enemies and organic parts from defeated alien monsters.
Four Mech Pilots Always Working Together
-Tackle every mission with all four pilots and do everything in your power to protect your outpost from greedy raiders and power-hungry alien creatues. You can invite up to three friends to join the action at any time.
Fast-Paced Mech combat
-Pilot your own powerful and agile mech into battle with enormous alien monsters. You must leave your suit to repair and upgrade it, but you become more vulnerable to every threat. Collect T-Eng to power your suit weapons or risk your suit being temporarily disabled.
Giant Monsters and Human Raiders
-Protect your outpost from human raiders and the indigenous monster threat. Defeat massive alien bosses and loot their massive stores of T-Eng.
MS has historically supported Dead Rising from Capcom, but with DR4 having recently released as well as State of Decay 2 releasing 2017, I would imagine they don't need anymore zombie games right now or anytime soon. Anyway, to get to my crazy theory, Broken Horizon is a Lost Planet reboot that is being funded by Microsoft to be announced at E3 this year as a Play Anywhere title.
Lost Planet makes sense for a few reasons:
-As previously mentioned, Capcom being a Japanese developer, a focus on fighting giant monsters, and a healthy focus on 4-player co-op fills a spot many Xbox owners had previously reserved for Scalebound.
-Lost Planet has a history with Xbox, and Xbox is currently in need of both nostalgia bait and games that don't fit their more traditional offerings.
-Also, this part in the leaked description:
Giant Monsters and Human Raiders
-Protect your outpost from human raiders and the indigenous monster threat. Defeat massive alien bosses and loot their massive stores of T-Eng
Sounds like the exact type of game mode that could be leveraged as way to sell MT's in the exact way MS has been doing with many of their own first party releases.
