The Rebooted Perfect Dark Game Is Still “Years Away From Release” According To A New Report

A new report suggests that the Perfect Dark reboot that was teased during The Game Awards back in 2020 is apparently far from seeing a release.

According to a lengthy report published by IGN, The Initiative, the self-proclaimed AAAA studio working on the reboot, has made “little meaningful progress” since the game’s reveal. IGN’s report cites 13 sources that are “familiar with the game’s development” who state that Xbox’s huge upcoming title is still “in the earliest stages” of development. The big headline to come from this extensive report is that the reboot isn’t likely to hit shelves/Game PAss any time soon, with the estimation being that Perfect Dark is still “two to three years away from being ready for release.”

Obviously, this hasn’t come out of nowhere, as the game has been MIA since that CGI trailer at The Game Awards that acted more as a proof of concept than anything else. The Initiative has been hit with numerous setbacks over the past few years, such as pandemic-related restrictions, talent departure, technological issues and a failed partnership. That last point stands out, as co-developer Certain Affinity, brought on to help with the project in 2019, left the project in 2021, soon after the two studios had presented a “fairly polished proof of concept” that included “a handful of unfinished, prototype levels, a loose narrative, and showcased some basic traversal, gadgets, and combat.”

Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is now partnered with The Initiative to work on Perfect Dark, however the title “essentially started over from scratch in Unreal 5” in 2022 following the two studios coming together.

While the hope is certainly that The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics have nothing but smooth sailing ahead, it’s nevertheless a tough blow for one of Xbox’s premiere games to suffer so many setbacks after a public reveal.

Are you still looking forward to the Perfect Dark reboot? What did you make of the game’s reveal? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.

Huge shoutouts to IGN.