Report: Xbox’s Perfect Dark Reboot is Cancelled for Good After Failing to Find New Publisher

The Xbox-exclusive Perfect Dark game has reportedly been cancelled for good after failing to find a new publisher. Following Microsoft’s closure of lead developer The Initiative in July, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported yesterday that Take-Two was one of the companies interested in purchasing the game from Microsoft. However, negotiations ultimately fell through last week.

According to the report, Embracer Group, the parent company of Crystal Dynamics, which was co-developing the game with the now-closed The Initiative, was in discussions with multiple parties about the future of the Perfect Dark reboot. Despite Microsoft officially cancelling the game in July during another round of layoffs, the remaining developers at Crystal Dynamics still had a shot at finding a new funding partner for Perfect Dark.

“Embracer had come close to striking a deal in which the video-game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. would purchase the game from Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox, which owned the rights. Take-Two would then fund and publish the game. But the talks collapsed at least in part because the companies involved were unable to come to terms over long-term ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise,” people familiar with the negotiations told Schreier.

With the potential deal with Take-Two falling apart, Crystal Dynamics announced last week that it had to lay off employees “as the result of evolving business conditions.” The company didn’t explicitly mention that this was related to the definitive cancellation of the Perfect Dark reboot, however. Neither Embracer Group, Xbox, nor Take-Two were willing to comment on the situation when reached by Schreier.

The much-anticipated Perfect Dark reboot had been in development for more than five years, and it was initially announced at The Game Awards 2020 ceremony. It was also the first project from The Initiative, the “AAAA” studio Microsoft created in 2018. Despite the experienced Crystal Dynamics coming to help back in September 2021, the reboot of the cult-classic game will never see the light of day. Let’s hope Microsoft’s Fable reboot, which has now been delayed to 2026, will get all the support it needs to reach the finish line.