Darrell Gallagher leaves Xbox after Perfect Dark cancellation leaving an enigmatic message

The former director of The Initiative says goodbye after the closure of the studio and the end of the project.

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Summer left one of the toughest news for Xbox: the cancellation of Perfect Dark and the closure of The Initiative, the studio created from scratch to bring back the iconic franchise. The project, announced as one of the major exclusives of the ecosystem, collapsed after internal restructuring and layoffs that marked Microsoft’s recent strategy.

Two months after that decision, another direct consequence arrives: Darrell Gallagher, director of The Initiative and responsible for the project, has confirmed his departure from Xbox. The creative shared his farewell on LinkedIn, where he assures that he closes this stage “with pride for what we have achieved together and a lot of excitement for what’s to come“.

Gallagher says goodbye after the end of Perfect Dark

In his message, Gallagher emphasizes that his departure is directly linked to what happened with the studio and the Perfect Dark project, which never managed to surpass the initial development phase. Despite this, he states that he takes away a great experience and feels proud of the team he assembled for the occasion.

His departure marks the definitive closure of an era for Xbox and leaves in the air what will be the next destination of a creator with a long trajectory, who in the past worked on franchises like Tomb Raider. Meanwhile, players are left without the return of one of the most anticipated sagas of the brand, which, although it seemed close, was not as close as it seemed.