Perfect Dark: Everything we know so far

Perfect Dark screenshot showing a close-up of the new Joanna Dark character model, voiced by Alix Wilton Regan with Elissa Bibaud lending visual likeness — (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

The Perfect Dark reboot has been cancelled. Reports came to light on July 2, 2025, following the sad news that mass layoffs had hit Xbox. With a leaked memo from Xbox Game Studios president Matt Booty confirming that both Perfect Dark development has ended and that the studio behind, The Initiative, it has been closed.

Other projects were also canceled, including Rare's fantasy adventure, Everwild. The Initiative was first formed in 2018 under the Xbox Game Studios list of developers. Set to be among the upcoming Xbox Series X games we were expecting to see land in 2026, the Perfect Reboot was initially pitched as the long awaited return of Joanna Dark, in what would have been a "fresh take on the secret agent experience.

Perfect Dark canceled

Development on Perfect Dark was canceled on July 2, 2025. This disappointing turn of events came following wide layoffs across the Microsoft organization, which impacted the Xbox division. The Initiative – the studio founded by Xbox Game Studios to take on this Perfect Dark reboot – was also closed.

Despite a great gameplay reveal at the Xbox Games Showcase in 2024, there has been speculation that Perfect Dark had a challenging development period – including a full creative reboot in 2022.

Perfect Dark screenshot showing Joanna Dark using a voice manipulation gadget to create a deepfake of an NPCs voice — (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

While Xbox never locked in an official Perfect Dark release date for the project, it was expected to land in 2026. Sadly, with lead developer The Initiative shuttered as part of layoffs across Microsoft, work on the reboot has now ceased.

Perfect Dark platforms

Perfect Dark screenshot showing the modern-day Cairo, Egypt setting and how it has been blended with high-tech security features — (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Perfect Dark was originally in development for Xbox Series X and PC, and would have been a day-one release into the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service.

Perfect Dark trailer

The last Perfect Dark trailer was a far cry from the teaser we saw at the 2020 Game Awards (you can watch that one just below). In it, a frankly too-badass-to-be-real Joanna Dark gets suited up to go undercover on a stealthy mission in Cairo.

Cue all the techno-gadget and cybernetic punk-infused sensibilities of first-person action games like Dishonored or Deus Ex, as Joanna slinks about the bustling city like a shadow. Check out the trailer for yourself above if you're keen to see snippets of the what the gameplay would have been like first-hand.

Perfect Dark story

Perfect Dark screenshot showing a bank of PCs scanning data and tracking the movement of environmental disasters — (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Perfect Dark was envisioned as a full series reboot, designed to give all players an easy onboarding into a series that celebrated its 25th anniversary this year in 2025. You would have played as Joanna Dark, a dataDyne elite agent sent into Cairo to investigate the origins of 'The Cascade' – a strange series of ecological disasters which rendered entire regions of the globe inhospitable to human life.

Dark was set to be sent to Cairo after the capital city becomes a walled-off paradise, following a hypercorporation known as Core Mantis's attempt to set up a solution called the 'GEN Network', which was said to restore ecological balance. As Dark, we would have set out to investigate the corporations' motives and hunt the world's most wanted criminal, Daniel Carrington, in the process.

Perfect Dark setting

Perfect Dark screenshot showing the Cairo, Egypt setting which has been walled off from the world to protect it from environmental disasters — (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

The Perfect Dark reboot was set on a 'near future' Earth, one which has been struck by a series of global disasters – each bringing ecosystems around the world to the verge of collapse. That's where Joanna Dark came in, a dataDyne's elite agent who is sent undercover to hunt down whoever is responsible for the technological breakthroughs that threaten the lives of millions of people. The Perfect Dark reboot would have been principally set in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.

Perfect Dark gameplay

Perfect Dark screenshot showing Joanna Dark engaging two enemies in a gun battle — (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

The Initiative wanted to deliver the "ultimate secret agent experience," and from what we'd seen of Perfect Dark's gameplay, the studio did look on track to deliver. Envisioned as a first-person action-adventure game, Perfect Dark was supposed to blend fluid traversal and high-tech gadgets with a mixture of gunplay and close-quarters combat, the result being a freedom to define what sort of spy Joanna Dark was going to be. It looked very slick, with the first gameplay trailer offering big Deus Ex vibes.

Other teases from The Initiative suggested you'd have been able to take lethal and non-lethal routes to take down threats. That Joanna can shift her primary weapon between ballistic and stun configurations, and utilize unlockable abilities to dispatch multiple enemies at once. There was also a variety of gadgets to wield; Vocal Analysis to let you analyze an NPC's voice to create a deepfake which can trick security systems, while Manipulation would let you mess around with elements in the environment to create distractions. There was also a scanner which could be used to help you learn more details about the world around you – information is key in the super agent business.

Perfect Dark development

A screenshot of the The Initiative logo in front of a beach during the sunset.

(Image credit: The Initiative)

Perfect Dark was in development from The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics. The former studio was founded in 2018 and headed up by Darrell Gallagher – who, funnily enough, played a key role in the 2013 revival of Tomb Raider with Crystal Dynamics.

The partnership of the two studios came off the back of rumors that had been circulating, alleging that The Initiative was struggling to retain staff as development of Perfect Dark became more complex. In 2022, Gallagher later told VGC: "It's no small task to build a studio and reinvent a beloved franchise… In this journey, it's not uncommon for there to be staffing changes, especially during a time of global upheaval over the last two years, and there's plenty more work in front of us to deliver a fantastic Perfect Dark experience to our players."

Previously in 2021, Microsoft announced that The Initiative was partnering with Crystal Dynamics to complete development of the Perfect Dark reboot. In a statement, The Initiative drew attention to the "world class team behind character-driven games such as Tomb Raider" which will help it "to bring this first-person spy thriller to a new generation". Crystal Dynamics was acquired by Embracer Group from Square Enix in 2022, but has since confirmed that it will continue working on the new Perfect Dark in a co-developer capacity.

It was then confirmed on July 2 that The Initiative had been closed following layoffs across Microsoft and the Xbox division, with development ending on Perfect Dark as a result.

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