Microsoft’s Perfect Dark reboot could have been saved from cancellation by Take-Two.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the publishing giant was in talks with Embracer – which owns Perfect Dark co-development studio Crystal Dynamics – and was willing to acquire the project from Microsoft. Had this deal gone through, the plan would have been for Take-Two to then fund and publish Perfect Dark itself.

However, according to Bloomberg’s sources, this deal was ultimately never realised due to “disagreements over long-term ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise”. Crystal Dynamics was therefore forced to abandon the game and lay off staff towards the end of last month.

The Perfect Dark reboot was initially announced back in 2020, with Microsoft studio The Initiative set to lead development. Crystal Dynamics was then brought in to support in 2021.

The reboot did not have a smooth time of things, however, and in 2023, it was said “little meaningful progress” had been made. In 2024, it was then said Perfect Dark had become “a big, protracted mess”, and was in a “rough state”.

Things seemed to be taking a turn for the better later that year, though, and we were treated to the first gameplay trailer for Perfect Dark. However, this glimmer of hope was soon extinguished, and in July of this year, Microsoft pulled the plug on Perfect Dark and closed down The Initiative.

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