The Cancelled Perfect Dark Reboot Was Almost Salvaged By Take-Two Interactive Before Deal Fell Through

Jason Schreier reports that Crystal Dynamic’s recent staff cuts and abandonment of the reboot comes after failing to find a new funding partner, which had been a focus of the leadership at Crystal Dynamics and the studio in charge of the reboot, The Initiative. Negotiations between Take-Two Interactive and Crystal Dynamics owner Embracer Group had come close to saving the game, with the former intending to purchase it from Microsoft’s Xbox, who holds the rights, but the deal ultimately fell through over “long-term ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise” according to sources who requested anonymity. The sources were reportedly not authorized to speak on the negotiations. 

The reboot of the N64 shooter, originally released in 2000, was first revealed in 2020. The Initiative announced their team up with Crystal Dynamics for the project a year later in 2021. The first—and likely last for this version of a reboot—gameplay trailer came out in 2024, showcasing Agent Joanna Dark parkouring, stealthing around areas, and beating down enemies with an array of tools. The Initiative was also shut down in July 2025 along with the game’s cancellation. 

Even if some people would’ve skipped this game due to the BDS boycott against Microsoft’s gaming products that’s currently ongoing, this whole affair is a mess worth lamenting. It’s a story containing several of the ways the games industry is flailing, including but not limited to workers thrown into a tumultuous job market for no clear reason, a company holding onto IP rights that they’re no longer doing much with, and a game that many were looking forward to being added to the list of “what could’ve been” stories. That second point does leave room for a future where the Perfect Dark franchise comes back (again), since no major series is ever really dead (or, increasingly, allowed to live again without issue), but that comeback will have to reckon with the untimely death of this latest reboot.