Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports that the Perfect Dark remake was nearly saved before a deal between Microsoft and Take-Two fell through, leading to the recent round of layoffs for developer Crystal Dynamics.
Schreier’s sources reveal that, following the cancellation of the game announced in early July alongside the closure of The Initiative, key people at The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics (which had been helping on the Perfect Dark project) tried to seek funding from another publisher. The most interested was Take-Two, which was looking to purchase the game rights from Microsoft. However, the agreement failed because the two companies could not find common ground on the IP’s long-term ownership, which, therefore, remains with Microsoft.
This also means there’s no chance of seeing this Perfect Dark project ever come to fruition. Originally announced at The Game Awards 2020, the project could not be developed by The Initiative alone. In September 2021, Microsoft announced that the studio would partner with Crystal Dynamics for this remake. The Tomb Raider studio already had extensive experience with reboots, after all, and the founder of The Initiative (Darrell Gallagher) had worked at Crystal Dynamics for over a decade, supposedly making the collaboration even easier.
After three years, fans finally got a glimpse at the game in a gameplay trailer distributed during the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. The footage was promising, showing a tactical first-person shooter game with influences from stealth games and even immersive sims. It was also supposed to have a parkour-like movement system and in-depth environmental interaction. The plot saw Joanna Dark trying to uncover a conspiracy spearheaded by megacorporations that had stepped in to save the world following major ecological crises, only to use their deployment of advanced technology as cover for their own agendas. The likeness of Joanna Dark herself was crafted using real-life model Elissa Bibaud, while her performance capture featured Alix Wilton Regan (credited in Dragon Age: Inquisition, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and The Elder Scrolls Online).
