Microsoft has officially axed the Perfect Dark reboot and shuttered its developer, The Initiative, among major ongoing layoffs and project cancelations across the Xbox division. The Perfect Dark reboot was meant to be the debut project of The Initiative, but seven years after the studio’s inception and nearly five years after the game’s reveal, both of them are vanishing into the ether with little to show for it.
Announced in 2018 with much fanfare, The Initiative was established to lead Xbox’s push into prestige first-party AAA game development. Helmed by Tomb Raider veteran Darrell Gallagher and comprised of talent from notable studios like Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Bioware, and more, The Initiative set its sights on reviving Rare’s cult-classic Perfect Dark franchise. However, after revealing a brief CGI teaser for the Perfect Dark reboot in late 2020, The Initiative went radio silent. Reports later emerged of rampant staff turnover and creative differences at The Initiative, and the studio eventually brought aboard Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics to co-develop the Perfect Dark reboot.
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Gameplay of the Perfect Dark reboot finally debuted at the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, revealing an intriguing mix of stealth, sci-fi gadgetry, and immersive sim elements. Now, though, that glimpse is likely all fans will ever see of the project, as Windows Central recently broke news of Microsoft shutting down development of Perfect Dark and closing The Initiative. The report included an internal email from Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty, which stated that the decision to cancel Perfect Dark and shut down The Initiative reflects a company-wide effort to “adjust priorities and focus resources” to set first-party teams up for “greater success in a changing industry landscape.”
Perfect Dark Developer The Initiative is the Fifth Xbox Studio to Have Been Shut Down Over The Past Year
Perfect Dark is one of several games Microsoft canceled today – Rare’s Everwild, a Zenimax Online MMORPG codenamed Blackbird, and numerous unannounced projects were among the casualties – but Windows Central reports that The Initiative is reportedly the only planned studio closure for now. This marks the fifth Xbox team Microsoft has shuttered in just over a year, following the four Bethesda studios that the gaming giant closed in May 2024. In addition to The Initiative’s shutdown, Xbox subsidiaries like Turn 10 Studios, ZeniMax, King, Compulsion Games, multiple Call of Duty teams, and Rare have suffered layoffs.
The cancelation of Perfect Dark will no doubt be lamented by fans of Rare’s iconic spy thriller series who were awaiting the reboot with bated breath, as well as Xbox players looking forward to a AAA game made with the gaming giant’s loftiest ambitions and full breadth of resources. Given that the gameplay reveal of Perfect Dark took place just last year, it also begs the question of how far along in the reboot’s development The Initiative was. Some are theorizing that the Perfect Dark gameplay could’ve simply been a vertical slice, with the rest of the game still years away from being finished, leaving Microsoft no choice but to abandon development. Whatever the case may be, one can only hope that the devs affected by The Initiative’s closure will land back on their feet.