Perfect Dark Cancelled and The Initiative Shut Down Amid Xbox Layoffs

Yesterdary, Microsoft announced that it would be laying off over 9,000 employees from the company with its Xbox gaming division being hit particularly hard. We reported that Zenimax Online Studios and Rare were heavily affected by the job cuts, leading to cancelled projects at both studios. We now have confirmation that the planned reboot of Perfect Dark has been cancelled as well with developer The Initiative shut down.

A recent statement from Xbox’s Matt Booty revealed that Microsoft made the decision to shut down The Initiative and cease the development of Perfect Dark, claiming that the decisions “reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape.”

An excerpt from Booty’s statement sent to staff yesterday reads:

“We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative. These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape. We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.”

“To everyone across our studios: thank you. Your creativity and resilience continue to define who we are. I believe in the strength of our teams and the direction we’re taking on the path ahead,” Booty concluded his statement.

The California-based studio The Initiative was opened in 2018 by former Crystal Dynamics boss Darrell Gallagher and several veteran developers. The reboot of Perfect Dark was set to be the studio’s first title. It’s unclear why the project was scrapped, though some speculate that it was facing a rough development period.

Source: Windows Central