LogInThe developers have failed to secure a new publishing deal with Take-Two.
The Perfect Dark reboot, a first-person shooter co-developed by The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics and originally published by Xbox before being canceled earlier this year following The Initiative's closure, has reportedly faced a rare fate and has now been canceled for a second time after its remaining developer failed to secure a new publishing deal.
Crystal Dynamics
As reported by Jason Schreier, after the game's original, publicly announced shutdown during Microsoft's mass layoffs in July 2025, Crystal Dynamics was given the chance to look for funding elsewhere, so while the game was de facto canceled, it wasn't entirely dead at that point – more like comatose and on life support.
Throughout July and August, the studio was doing just that, reaching out to multiple publishers to discuss a potential purchase of Perfect Dark's publishing rights. One of those publishers was Take-Two Interactive, which was allegedly interested in acquiring the game. Unfortunately, though, the talks ultimately went nowhere, with Schreier claiming that one reason was the two sides' failure to agree on long-term ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise.
With the deal falling apart, the Perfect Dark reboot has now reportedly been abandoned for good, making it one of the few games to get shut down twice. The inability to secure a new publisher is also said to be the reason behind last week's job cuts at Crystal Dynamics, which affected an unspecified number of employees.
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