Earlier this year, The Initiative, the studio responsible for Perfect Dark, was shut down amid widespread layoffs at Microsoft, and the project appeared to be canceled. However, development on Perfect Dark reportedly continued at Crystal Dynamics until just last week, while leadership from both studios worked to secure new funding from an unexpected partner: Take-Two.
According to a Bloomberg report, which IGN has verified through its own sources, Perfect Dark was not completely abandoned when The Initiative closed earlier this year. For the next two months, leaders from both Crystal Dynamics and The Initiative sought a new publisher and financial backing. While several companies showed interest, Take-Two Interactive emerged as the most likely candidate. Still, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement, partly because of disagreements over long-term ownership of the intellectual property.
As a result, the deal fell through, leading to recent layoffs at Crystal Dynamics as all hope of reviving the project disappeared.
Crystal Dynamics originally joined Perfect Dark as a co-developer after the project faced challenges with its initial co-development partner, Certain Affinity. Following its acquisition by Embracer Group in 2022, the game was canceled in July after being absent from the Xbox Games Showcase the previous month.
