Confirmed, The Initiative is closing and the new Perfect Dark is cancelled

The cancellation of Perfect Dark brings an end to the studio and its alliance with Crystal Dynamics.

More stories in the category News

• This is what ZeniMax’s cancelled shooter was like: a mix of Blade Runner and Destiny
• The lows continue: the president of Zenimax Online Studios resigns
• The developer of Perfect Dark responds to the controversy over the supposed fake trailer of the game

The wave of cuts sweeping through Microsoft continues to have significant consequences. This time, one of its most ambitious bets is affected: The Initiative, the studio founded in 2018 with industry veterans, will close definitively without having published any title.

The news, confirmed by Windows Central, comes amidst a restructuring that affects 4% of Microsoft’s global workforce, with layoffs that have also hit divisions like King, ZeniMax, and Bethesda London. The Initiative team, which was working on the reboot of Perfect Dark, has already received official notification of the closure. We previously reported on this and now sadly confirm it.

Perfect Dark canceled and end of collaboration with Crystal Dynamics

The rebirth of the Perfect Dark saga, announced as a collaboration between The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics, is officially canceled. The project was presented with great expectation in 2020 and reappeared at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 with a playable demo, but never had a release date or window.

The team was led by Darrell Gallagher, known for his work on Tomb Raider, and was conceived as a “quadruple-A” studio with talent from companies like Naughty Dog, Rockstar, or Santa Monica Studio. Despite high expectations, internal development progress was irregular, and after several changes in direction, the project did not survive the current cuts.

Microsoft has indicated that it will offer compensation, resources, and priority access to new vacancies within the company for affected employees. With this decision, Perfect Dark joins other recently canceled projects, such as Everwild, as Xbox continues to reorganize its structure for the future.