GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers. Xbox's Perfect Dark reboot, first announced in 2020, has been canceled. Its developer, The Initiative, is also shutting down, Microsoft has confirmed.

Let’s start with the obvious: the original Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64 was a masterpiece. After the success of GoldenEye (more on this soon), developer Rare outdid itself in every way. At the ...

The reboot of Perfect Dark was in development at Crystal Dynamics and The Initiative, but it was canceled in July 2025 due to mass layoffs at Microsoft and Xbox.

Perfect Dark was built on everything Rare had accomplished with GoldenEye 007 and was widely praised for its graphics, story, and multiplayer aspects. It was ahead of its time with these features and ...