Microsoft passed on Heavy Rain due to game's child kidnapping themes

Heavy Rain director and Quantic Dream studio co-founder David Cage has revealed that Microsoft turned down publishing the game on the platform, suggesting that "they didn't want the scandal" of being associated with a game with child abduction as a central theme.

The news came as part of Cage's presentation at the BAFTA Annual Games Lecture being held in London, as reported by Polygon. According to the outspoken French developer, while the Xbox creator "really loved Fahrenheit" and "really wanted to do something with us," the two couldn't come together on the developer's next project, with the pair philosophically opposed.

"Microsoft is a great company, I'm not complaining or criticising," Cage said, explaining that Sony was far more receptive to the game's concept and themes, resulting in the two companies moving ahead to collaborate on what would become the PlayStation 3-exclusive cinematic adventure, Heavy Rain.

While still independently owned, Quantic Dream has worked closely with Sony in recent years, and is currently preparing to release PlayStation 3-exclusive adventure game Beyond: Two Souls. The software developer also unveiled a PlayStation 4 tech demo called The Dark Sorcerer at E3 2013.