Perfect Dark reportedly cancelled, The Initiative studio closing

Microsoft's major wave of layoffs has brought the end of its Perfect Dark reboot.

It’s a dark day at Xbox Gamer Studios as Microsoft’s gaming division is being heavily impacted by the company’s massive round of layoffs. As thousands lose their jobs, it looks like the reboot of Perfect Dark has been cancelled. Furthermore, its developer, The Initiative, will be shut down.

As Microsoft officially began to conduct its latest round of layoffs, which are said to impact up to 9,000 employees at the company, a report from Windows Central claims that Perfect Dark and its developer are part of the culling.

Perfect Dark was announced in 2020 at The Game Awards. Microsoft created a new internal studio, The Initiative, to lead development on the project. We most recently saw the game during the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, which featured a gameplay reveal.

This morning, we learned that Microsoft’s layoffs will also result in the cancellation of Rare’s Everwild. In a statement, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that Xbox “has never looked stronger” despite the layoffs.