Xbox’s Perfect Dark reboot is reportedly in a “very rough state”

You might have to wait even longer for the Perfect Dark achievements, as a new report suggests the Perfect Dark reboot is in a “very rough state” right now, despite Crystal Dynamics working with The Initiative on the project. While we were hoping for a glimpse of the game during next month’s Xbox Games Showcase, it sounds like we shouldn’t hold our breath.

Development on Perfect Dark reboot isn’t going smoothly according to new rumor

It’s been four years since The Initiative announced its Perfect Dark reboot but we’ve yet to really learn anything about the project, even though Crystal Dynamics stepped in to help out in 2021. While Xbox’s Matt Booty said the partnership between the two studios didn’t mean the reboot was having troubles, a report from VGC soon after The Initiative announced its partnership with Crystal Dynamics suggested that around half of the core development team had quit the company, including a host of senior staff. Fast forward to 2024 and it appears things aren’t looking much better for the project.

When speaking on Giant Bomb’s podcast, Jeff Grubb says he has “been hearing for years that Perfect Dark is in a rough state. Sounds like it’s in a very rough state.” Apparently, it “doesn’t sound like it’s really come together in any way” since it was announced in 2020, even with the extra help from Crystal Dynamics.

Echoing Grubb’s report, video game historian Liam Robertson says they’ve heard that the Perfect Dark reboot is “just a big, protracted mess.”

With reports like this surfacing the day after Microsoft announces that it is shutting down four studios, two of which have a history of creating award-winning single-player games, is not a great look for Xbox.