Creators of canceled Perfect Dark reboot find new home at GTA publisher

The new Perfect Dark game got shelved by Microsoft and Embracer, but Take-Two Interactive has picked up at least two of its developers.

The Redmond giant and the Swedish company significantly contributed to a large wave of layoffs in the gaming industry. In July alone, it was announced that over 9,000 people would lose their jobs.

Among the creators affected by the job cuts was the team working on the reboot of the iconic Perfect Dark, much to the dismay of employees from both the closed team, The Initiative, and the co-developing studio Crystal Dynamics (which recently faced more layoffs).

The only hope for Perfect Dark was Take-Two Interactive, but reportedly, they failed to reach an agreement with Embracer Group.

GTA publisher to the rescue

Nevertheless, it seems Take-Two is interested in the former creators of the new PD. According to Jason Schreier from Bloomberg, the publisher of the Grand Theft Auto and Civilization series has hired former CEO of The Initiative, Darrell Gallagher, and the director of the ill-fated Perfect Dark, and tasked them with establishing a new studio. Not long after, both developers confirmed the news in their LinkedIn posts.

However, there is definitely no hope for the revival of Perfect Dark. Xbox Game Studios still owns the rights to the brand, so it's pretty unlikely that Microsoft will let T2 use it for a project from a studio they shut down. Nevertheless, it's encouraging that at least some of the creators affected by the layoffs have found a new home. The only question that remains is what the first project of their new studio will be.

Perfect Dark

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• Overview

• Take 2 Interactive
• layoffs / employments
• Perfect Dark (brand)