After the cancellation of Scalebound, many in the Xbox community started to wonder about the status of other Microsoft exclusives. Xbox live members took to Twitter to ask Phil Spencer what was going to happen to titles that still had no official release date such as Crackdown 3, Phantom Dust HD, and Sea of Thieves.
Last year during Microsoft’s E3 2016 press conference, Microsoft announced Phantom Dust HD. During E3 2014, the first version of a Phantom Dust remake was announced but would later be canceled.
Previously Phil Spencer had stated on twitter that he hoped for Phantom Dust HD to release before E3 but that it was not for certain. Yesterday during a twitter exchange, Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer confirmed that Phantom Dust HD should release sometime before E3 2017. Phantom Dust HD features upgraded textures and performances. The game will use Microsoft’s Xbox Live features in order to allow players to play across platforms. Phantom Dust HD is supposed to release for Xbox One and PC.
@HollowSchematic Should ship before E3.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 29, 2017
Phantom Dust HD online will feature draft decks in order to battle against one another online. Tournament play will be a possibility through the Xbox Live Arena App. It will be interesting to see how Phantom Dust HD will do since the original Phantom Dust did not sell that well. The original Phantom Dust had a cult following and this may be a new market for Microsoft to enter or could just be a one hit wonder.
If Phantom Dust HD does not succeed like Microsoft intends, we could see an alternate version of the series as an action series rather than a card battler. The graphics from the 2016 trailer looks like an exciting wasteland where magic plays a key role. Trading Card video games have not been as big in recent years as they had been during the early 2000s
