Take-Two reportedly attempted to save Perfect Dark's reboot, but discussions have collapsed

by Danny Craig ·
Take-Two reportedly attempted to save Perfect Dark's reboot, but discussions have collapsed
Microsoft

It has been claimed that publisher Take-Two Interactive has attempted to save Xbox’s Perfect Dark reboot after it was scrapped back in July. However, discussions have fell apart regarding the ownership of the IP.

The details:

  • Back in July, Microsoft confirmed that it had shuttered first-party studio The Initiative, which was working on a reboot of the Perfect Dark series alongside Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics. With the closure of the studio, the project was cancelled, eventually resulting in a wave of layoffs at Crystal Dynamics last month.
  • As reported by Bloomberg, after its cancellation under Microsoft, leadership at The Initiative and Embracer-owned Crystal Dynamics were given the opportunity to try and find funding for Perfect Dark elsewhere. According to the publication, Embracer was close to securing a deal with Take-Two, which would see the latter purchase the project from Xbox, fund its development, then publish the game.
  • However, the deal is now said to have fallen apart as all parties involved struggled to come to terms with who would own the Perfect Dark IP in the long-term. Further details regarding the discussions have not been revealed by the anonymous source and representatives for Embracer, Xbox and Take-Two have all declined to comment.
  • Debuting in 2000, the original Perfect Dark was seen as a follow-up to Rare’s legendary GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64, with a much less loved sequel, Perfect Dark Zero, launching alongside the Xbox 360 back in 2005. Despite the mixed reception to PDZ, the ill-fated reboot was announced in 2020 and later shown off last year, with years of internal issues such as changes in management and direction plaguing its development.

More gaming news:

Featured Jobs
More Jobs
Latest News
More News