For those few years of speculation prior to The Initative announcing its secret game in development, anticipation among fans was high. Plenty of fans were throwing around possible IPs and games that the studio may have been working on at the time. That being said, the prevailing rumor quickly becamePerfect Dark, and that The Initiative was putting together a reboot for the 20-year-old franchise. Fast-forward to The Game Awards in 2020, and Microsoft revealed the first short teaser forPerfect Dark, showcasing the dystopian world and the first (vague) look at Agent Dark. From then on, there’s been relative silence from the development team and the state of the game.
News this week, as reported by VGC, indicates that there’s been significant turnover and turmoil at The Initiative, the primary development team working on thePerfect Darkreboot. Working in collaboration with Crystal Dynamics, it seems many of the senior staff (among others) have left The Initiative in droves, right around the same time the Crystal Dynamics news was announced. The Initiative has publicly addressed the report and stated its confidence in the team working with Crystal Dynamics, which is evidently taking a greater lead on the project now. That being said, it’s clear this significant change in leadership could potentially lead to a very differentPerfect Darkreboot.
RELATED:Perfect Dark Developer The Initiative Has Lost Even More Devs Than Previously Reported
An Unexpected First Look Into Perfect Dark’s Tumultuous Development
Crystal Dynamics officially joined the project in September of last year, but it seems that was in response toseveral of the departures and turnover at The Initiative. Based on the way the report and interviews frame these departures, it seems Crystal Dynamics is taking on the lead developer role for thePerfect Darkreboot compared to The Initiative. Those interviewed in VGC’s report indicate a “top-down” approach to development that left little leeway for developer freedom; interviewed developers specifically pointed out studio head Darrell Gallagher and former game director Daniel Neuburger as part of the reason for their headstrong vision forPerfect Dark.
As a result, several senior executives and developers (including Neuburger) left The Initiative due to “painfully” slow. Though the Initiative has expressed confidence in the existing team alongside Crystal Dynamics, it’s clear thatdevelopment has been tumultuous onPerfect Dark. That would also explain the lack of news and information outside of the pre-rendered announcement trailer from over a year ago. As for Microsoft, for now, there’s been no confirmed response or action from the company on behalf of this news. Granted, Microsoft has shown in the past that it’s willing to remain patient (and has the extra business capital to do so) with developers.
RELATED:Perfect Dark’s Status is a Mystery One Year After Its Announcement
How This Affects The Initiative, Perfect Dark
However, that also means that thePerfect Darkreboot’s development is in an early enough stage where an overhaul or soft reboot of development could easily occur. Even though stories ofpeople like Phil Spencer playing The Initiative’sPerfect Darkexist, this news could indicate that Crystal Dynamics could take the game in a new or adjusted direction.Perfect Darklikely isn’t in a state of development where it releases anywhere before 2023-2024 regardless, and considering there’s no confirmed release date forPerfect Dark, Crystal Dynamics and The Initiative have all the time in the world to work on the game long-term.
That’s not to say the project is theoretically in the wrong hands; much of The Initiative’s development team is made up of ex-Crystal Dynamics developers who worked on theTomb Raiderreboot series. Even though the tone ofPerfect Dark(an espionage spy thriller FPS) is arguably different fromTomb Raider(a third-person action adventure game), both succeed from epic set-pieces and complex puzzles. Crystal Dynamics has more than proven its worth with its iconic,Uncharted-like moments inthe studio’s last threeTomb Raidergames.Perfect Dark’s “eco sci-fi” setting, alongside the stakes set by the game’s reveal, likely would fit epic and intense scenes.
That being said, the departures from The Initiative are an unusual upheaval, especially for a “AAAA” development studio that’s got a lot of promise behind it. Granted, VGC’s report and The Initiative’s Gallagher have cited the ongoing pandemic as a factor in the studio’s turnover, but that’s clearly not the full story.Without any indication ofPerfect Dark’s developmentprogress, it’s hard to speculate exactly how detrimental this could be toward the game’s development. Crystal Dynamics stepping in to the degree that it’s become the lead developer of the project certainly means a development reboot is likely forPerfect Dark.
