The Xbox Series S/X is in desperate need of exclusives and it’s getting reinforcements later this year with Starfield and Forza Motorsport coming out. But, while Avowed, Fable, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 are all expected to follow suit sometime in the next year, one exclusive that isn’t headed to the platform anytime soon if at all is the Perfect Dark reboot.
Unveiled with great anticipation at The Game Awards in 2020, the reboot of Perfect Dark—originally developed by Rare and beloved by fans for its blend of sci-fi and spy genres—has had a turbulent journey. Three years on, the path towards release remains tumultuous and potentially protracted, with IGN reporting a potential release in 2025.
According to their report, the title, being developed by The Initiative in collaboration with Crystal Dynamics, is still, at least, two to three years away.
The initial development plans reportedly saw tensions rise between The Initiative and their co-development partner, Certain Affinity. Differences in vision, miscommunications, and tension reportedly led to scrapped prototypes and a revolving door of ideas that never stuck. A former employee of The Initiative even remarked on this tumultuous process, stating, “It was not that we didn’t know what we wanted, it was that we kept making things that weren’t what we wanted.” These constant shifts culminated in the non-renewal of the partnership agreement with Certain Affinity in 2021, leaving Perfect Dark in an uncertain state.
Crystal Dynamics stepped in to fill the gap left by Certain Affinity. This, however, led to a new set of complications.
Upon the studio’s entry at the time, Crystal Dynamics reportedly found the project to be “a bit of a mess,” requiring more assistance than initially anticipated. This necessitated another overhaul of the game even though it had already spent three years in development. The co-development process, fraught with conflicts, lack of clear vision, and staff departures, resulted in a cycle of rejected ideas and prototypes which only added to the frustration.
While the co-development issues created hiccups, Xbox Game Studios boss, Matt Booty, believes this is the ideal route in modern game development. Despite initial struggles, the team at Crystal Dynamics is said to have found its rhythm, with Perfect Dark steadily developing under their guidance.
Another significant change in Perfect Dark’s development was the transition to Unreal Engine 5 last year. This move required the project to be started afresh, essentially overwriting the past three years of progress. However, it also marked a turning point in the game’s development trajectory, bringing a sense of direction and progress that had been previously lacking.
Interestingly, Perfect Dark’s troubles are not unique in Microsoft’s roster. Major Xbox titles like Everwild, State Of Decay 3, and Contraband have similarly struggled with development issues, resulting in their conspicuous absence from the recent Microsoft showcase.
Despite the setbacks, progress is reportedly being made. The current build is said to focus on narrative-driven first-person shooting, with a blend of combat, espionage, spy gadgets, and experimental movement tech. There’s even talk of Perfect Dark potentially adopting an episodic release format, though this remains speculative at this stage.
The Perfect Dark reboot could’ve taken advantage of a severe dearth in spy games in recent years, but, with the way things are, it might be out roughly around the same time another spy game, this time IO Interactive’s James Bond project, comes out.
However, the worst-case scenario is the Perfect Dark reboot will join The Elder Scrolls 6 in coming out sometime in 2028 – right around the same time the next Xbox comes out.
