Alright, so here’s the deal with the whole Perfect Dark saga — or lack thereof. It seems like Xbox Game Studios’ new take on Perfect Dark — which was supposed to be this big debut from The Initiative — well, it’s not happening anymore. First heard about this cool project back in 2020, and I was kinda stoked. But yeah, Matt Booty from Xbox Game Studios, he’s the guy in charge there, just pulled the plug. And not just on this, but on a bunch of stuff, it seems. A whole studio called The Initiative? Yeah, it’s gone now. That’s according to some report — I think from Windows Central.
Booty had some fancy words about “stopping development of Perfect Dark and Everwild” and then shutting down other stuff too. It’s like they’re doing a big shuffle, y’know? Trying to make sure their resources are used better. Apparently, these choices were tough — makes sense, considering all those years people spent on these projects.
Back in 2020, at The Game Awards — I just remember Geoff Keighley’s face — they unveiled the Perfect Dark reboot. Microsoft had set up this new team, The Initiative, in California. Darrell Gallagher, the guy running it, used to be with Crystal Dynamics. They showed off Perfect Dark again in 2024, all ecological and sci-fi-ish. Honestly, the theme sounded pretty rad.
Last year, Booty talked more about the vision. Near-future world, advanced tech going rogue, Joanna Dark playing the part of the heroine. Stealth missions, parkour, gadgets — the whole nine yards. There was talk of making it this mix of first-person shooter and stealth-action. Sounded like they were aiming for something big. It was supposed to hit Xbox Series X and Windows PC, but they never even announced a release date.
It’s wild to think Perfect Dark started way back on the Nintendo 64 in 2000. Then, they dropped a remaster on Xbox 360 in 2010. Rare, the developers, even tossed out a Game Boy Color version in 2000 and went prequel with Perfect Dark Zero in 2005.
Anyway, feels like another chapter closed. Or maybe it’s a whole book shelved for the time being. Who knows.
