Xbox head Phil Spencer hails in-development Crackdown 3, Phantom Dust HD

Thankfully, though, it looks as though Crackdown 3 and the Phantom Dust HD re-master are progressing well.

In a series of tweets, Xbox head Phil Spencer praised Crackdown 3, calling it the best in the series yet. Additionally, Spencer said Phantom Dust HD is progressing well, stating that the OG Xbox game still holds up.

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Crackdown 3 will launch in 2017, featuring unprecedented environmental destruction physics that extend the processing power of the Xbox One multiple times over by exporting calculations to the cloud. Phil Spencer said in a follow-up tweet that the cloud tech is working great. Crackdown 3 is a sandbox with a comic book aesthetic, where you control a super-powered agent in his quest to destroy a criminal underworld — by any (destructive) means necessary.

Phantom Dust HD will also arrive in 2017, following the cancellation of the game's reboot back in 2015. Phantom Dust is a card-based role-playing game, where players build decks of skills and deploy them in action RPG combat. Phantom Dust featured multiplayer combat as well as a narrative campaign. I suspect Microsoft will gauge interest in the remaster to consider whether to continue developing the series.

Despite Scalebound's cancellation, 2017 is packed with exciting first and third-party titles, including Red Dead Redemption 2, State of Decay 2, Prey, Sea of Thieves, Halo Wars 2, and much more. There's every chance we'll see Microsoft reveal even more future projects at E3 2017 to go with the reveal of Project Scorpio.

Jez Corden
Co-Managing Editor

Jez Corden is a Managing Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by tea. Follow on Twitter @JezCorden and listen to his XB2 Podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!