After nary a mention of the cult reboot during E3 last week, many fans were led to believe that Microsoft had quietly canceled development on Phantom Dust for Xbox One. Couple this with the fact that, earlier this year, Kotaku reported that the publisher had effectively cut ties with developer Darkside Games, the same studio it had specifically assigned to the project, and you have a project that appears to be in trouble.
Speaking on Gamertag Radio, Microsoft marketing head Aaron Greenberg has confirmed that Phantom Dust is indeed in a state of limbo, revealing that the project is “not canceled,” nor is it in active development now that there is no team at the helm.
“It’s been a passion project for [Xbox boss] Phil [Spencer] and a lot of the folks on the team,” he said. “We’re currently exploring what we’re gonna do longer term with Phantom Dust. The project is not cancelled but we don’t have an active developer on it right now. It’s a project that, like many things, will take a little more time. But at this point we’re not giving any more updates on it.”
First revealed during E3 last year via a CGI trailer, the return of Phantom Dust has been more than a decade in the making, after the original title released for Xbox back 2004. Fast forward to here and now, and it appears the project is still a ways away from release. Going off of Greenberg’s comments, it’s difficult to gauge whether Microsoft will opt to place the reboot on a shelf until a later date or, on the other hand, the publisher seeks to spearhead the flailing property quickly under a new studio.
We’ll keep you posted on Phantom Dust as this story develops. In the meantime, you can share your thoughts on this news down below.