Some rather unfortunate times have come upon the Florida indie development team Darkside Studios – Microsoft has decided to cut its involvement on the new-generation reboot of “Phantom Dust.” Though this news is daunting for fans, Microsoft has confirmed the continuation of the project’s development.
For reasons unknown at this time, Microsoft has decided to cut the team from development and has not released any new information on the title, who will continue its progress and if previous work from the studio will be used.
“Phantom Dust” was released in 2004 for the original Xbox system as an action-strategy title by Yukio Futatsugi and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Gameplay revolved around players utilizing skill cards in strategic battles to discover the true reasons behind Earth’s conditions. It was immensely popular in its time and still remains a cult classic. At the major gaming conference, Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014, Microsoft revealed the reboot of the game as an Xbox One exclusive title. Outside of a teaser, no details on the gameplay or story were revealed.
In an interview with Kotaku, a spokesperson from Microsoft said “Microsoft partnered with Darkside Game Studios in the development of ‘Phantom Dust,’ but our working relationship has now ended… We have great respect for their studio and their work in the industry. While we do not have anything new to share on ‘Phantom Dust’ at this time, we can confirm that development of the title continues. We look forward to sharing more details on the game as we get closer to release.”
No further details were allowed to be discussed on the situation.
Due to the unfortunate situation at hand for the team, the entire studio had to disband; it’s reported that roughly 50 people were let go. “Phantom Dust” was their first official solo project after recorded work on titles like “Borderlands” and recent Xbox One shooter, “Sunset Overdrive.”
At this time, “Phantom Dust” has yet to receive a release date and additional information has not been mentioned. It will be expected to be an exclusive title for Xbox One sometime in the future.