Xboxhas reportedly cancelled the long-awaitedPerfect Darkreboot and shut down The Initiative as part of its latest round of mass layoffs.
Today has been a very dark day for Xbox. For a while now, it’s been reported that Microsoft was planning on making some mass layoffs across Xbox,and it was confirmed earlier today that it’s laying off more than 9,000 people from multiple studios, which has even led to some games being cancelled.
Just a few hours ago,we learned that one of the victims of Xbox’s layoffs was Rare’s Everwild, as the studio itself was hit with layoffs. It seems that Everwild was just the start, though, as it’s now being reported that Perfect Dark and The Initiative are another victim of Xbox’s sudden closures.
Perfect Dark’s Reboot Has Reportedly Been Cancelled
Developer The Initiative Is To Be Shuttered As Well
Perfect Dark was rumoured to be one of the games cancelled by Xbox, andWindows Central has now reported that is indeed the case. Windows Central previously claimed that Perfect Dark might be on the chopping block and that it was looking into it, and it’s now confirmed by them to be true.
It’s not just Perfect Dark that’s being cancelled, though, as The Initiative is also being shut down. The news was reportedly confirmed by Xbox Games Studio head Matt Booty through an internal email that also revealed to Xbox staff that Everwild had been cancelled, alongside other unannounced games.
Perfect Dark’s reboot was being made in collaboration with Crystal Dynamics, but that partnership is now over thanks to the layoffs.
Windows Central also suggests that its sourcesclaim everything shown in the recent Xbox Showcase is “safe”, which would mean titles likeKeeper,Black Ops 7, andClockwork Revolution.State of Decay 3is also apparently safe despite a lot of rumours claiming otherwise, but there are reportedly still layoffs hitting several studios.
WhilePerfect Dark has had a rather rocky development cycle since it was first announced, it’s surprising to learn that it’s been outright cancelled. Just last year,we saw the first-ever gameplay trailer for Perfect Dark, which made it look very promising indeed.
