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Perfect Dark reboot is reportedly still years away from releasing

A new report alleges that Perfect Dark's development was essentially restarted last year.

Donovan Erskine

June 26, 2023 2:10 PM

Xbox Game Studios

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Nearly three years ago, Microsoft announced that a new Perfect Dark game was in development at The Initiative, a newly formed studio. Described as a AAAA game, there were immediately a lot of questions surrounding the project and the studio’s ambitions. There has been virtually no news on Perfect Dark since this announcement, and now we’ve got a better idea why. According to a new report, Perfect Dark had significant obstacles early on in development, and is still around two to three years away from release.

The report comes from IGN’s Rebekah Valentine, who conducted an investigation into Perfect Dark’s development since its 2020 reveal. The game essentially struggled from a slew of issues, including a lack of direction and turnover. A slew of developers left the studio back in March 2020.

In 2021, we learned that Crystal Dynamics was joining Perfect Dark as a co-developer on the project. According to the report, sources familiar with the project would describe it as more of a Crystal Dynamics game than a game by The Initiative. The report goes on to state that the game practically restarted its development just last year.

We do get an idea of what The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics are planning for the game, thanks to the report. Apparently, the new Perfect Dark will put an emphasis on espionage, with the use of gadgets and “experimental traversal.”

Perfect Dark’s development is reportedly back on track, but early issues mean that the game is around two to three years from being released. The problems that plagued the early years of Perfect Dark’s development would explain why the game has been absent from multiple showcases after its initial announcement, including the recent Xbox Games Showcase. Microsoft has yet to provide an official statement on Perfect Dark or the new report about its development.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_