Perfect Dark (Xbox Series X|S) News Articles
Monday22nd Sep 2025
News New Leak Reveals Fresh Details & Concept Art For Xbox's Cancelled Perfect Dark Reboot
Apparently shared by a former developer
We've been wondering when more details might start to leak out about Xbox's recently cancelled Perfect Dark reboot, and it's now begun - courtesy of an apparent "former developer" who's shared some details with the outlet MP1st. Let's start with those details. The outlet says it's seen documentation that...
Tuesday16th Sep 2025
News Perfect Dark Studio Head Issues Final Statement As He Leaves Team Xbox
"My time at Xbox has come to a close"
After years of promise, and exercising a certain amount of patience, Xbox studio The Initiative shut down earlier this year - taking the Perfect Dark reboot with it. Considering the game looked pretty impressive during Microsoft's 2024 summer showcase, we were shocked and disappointed by the news - and this...
Tuesday2nd Sep 2025
Report Take-Two Tried To Purchase Xbox's Cancelled Perfect Dark Reboot
But the talks collapsed
Last week, we reported how one of the teams behind Xbox's now-cancelled Perfect Dark reboot, Crystal Dynamics, had suffered job losses as a result of "evolving business conditions", and now a new report from Bloomberg has shed a bit more light on what's been happening - both at the studio and with the
Friday4th Jul 2025
News Perfect Dark Actor Calls On Fans To 'Speak Up' And Help The Game Survive
"Agent Dark doesn’t give up & neither should any of you"
Around this time last year, the actor for Joanna Dark in the Perfect Dark reboot was revealed as Alix Wilton Regan, and she mentioned at the time how she was "crazy excited" to play the role in The Initiative's debut title. Of course, it's now been cancelled this week, and she's returned to...
Thursday3rd Jul 2025
News Perfect Dark Developer Responds To 'Big Controversy' Over 2024 Gameplay Trailer
"It's annoying me, so I wanted to say something."
Earlier today, we highlighted a claim that the 2024 Perfect Dark gameplay trailer wasn't "indicative" of its overall progress, with a suggestion that it was "basically fake". Now, one of the trailer's developers has responded to this. Taking to social media earlier today, former Perfect Dark level...
News Perfect Dark Gameplay Trailer Wasn't 'Indicative' Of Its Progress, Claims Reporter
Update: PD developer responds
The most surprising news to come out of yesterday's Xbox layoffs was that Perfect Dark was being cancelled and The Initiative (the studio developing it) was being shut down. After all, we finally got a proper look at the title during last year's Xbox Games Showcase, and as mentioned at the time, we thought it looked...
Wednesday2nd Jul 2025
News Two More Xbox Games Are Being Cancelled, Including Perfect Dark
The Initiative has been shut down as a result
News about the Xbox layoffs continues to trickle in today, and these latest reports have left us pretty speechless - they say that both a new ZeniMax MMORPG and the Perfect Dark reboot (!) have now been cancelled. The ZeniMax game was being made by the Elder Scrolls Online team, and Bloomberg's Jason...
Thursday27th Mar 2025
News Xbox's Perfect Dark Co-Developer Announces Several Layoffs
"We did not make this decision lightly"
One of the major development teams working on Xbox's Perfect Dark reboot has laid off multiple employees this week, the studio has confirmed on social media. Crystal Dynamics, the Tomb Raider developer which has also been drafted in to work with Xbox on Perfect Dark, has let go of 17 workers in total.
Thursday31st Oct 2024
News PlayStation's Wolverine Director Now Working On Perfect Dark For Xbox
A perfect switch
This summer, we finally saw what Xbox's Perfect Dark reboot is all about - with the team showing a nice slice of the game during its June showcase. Still, it's likely that this Crystal Dynamics developed title is a ways off yet - and it just got a huge new creative force coming over from PlayStation owner Sony. Per Game File's...
Thursday20th Jun 2024
News Digital Foundry Breaks Down Xbox's Impressive Perfect Dark Showcase
Joanna Dark is back!
The Xbox Games Showcase this year was full of neat surprises, and one of them was the reappearance of Xbox's Perfect Dark Reboot. Coming out of The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics, Joanna Dark's return is looking rather splendid, and the team at
Friday14th Jun 2024
News Joanna Dark Actor 'Crazy Excited' To Lead Xbox's Perfect Dark Reboot
"A real privilege"
We were treated to a great surprise at the Xbox Games Showcase last Sunday when Perfect Dark reappeared with an impressive glimpse at gameplay, and since that trailer, the actor for lead character Joanna Dark has been revealed! The role has gone to the award-winning British actress Alix Wilton Regan, who expressed her delight at...
Sunday9th Jun 2024
News Xbox's Perfect Dark Reboot Returns With An Awesome Gameplay Trailer
Long time no see!
Today's Xbox Games Showcase gave us a surprise in the form of a new trailer for the Perfect Dark reboot! As you can see up above, the trailer features plenty of gameplay footage, although there's no release date or window for now. Obviously there are still a lot of unanswered questions about this new entry in the franchise, but...
Monday13th May 2024
News Perfect Dark Rumoured For Xbox Showcase As Positive Feedback Begins Cropping Up
Perhaps it's not in such a bad state after all
Last week, we brought you a few rumours about the state of the Perfect Dark reboot at Xbox, with some journalists and insiders suggesting that it hadn't been a smooth ride so far, and that the game might be in a very rough state. Well, hopefully that's not the case! Since then, Jeff Grubb of GiantBomb...
Wednesday8th May 2024
News Latest Rumours Suggest Perfect Dark Reboot Isn't Going Smoothly At Xbox
"Sounds like it's in a very rough state"
Sorry to continue with the doom and gloom, but we've come across a bunch of rumours related to the upcoming Perfect Dark reboot that sadly paint a negative picture of the game's development up until this point. This started with Jeff Grubb over at Giant Bomb, who stated yesterday that based on what he's...
Friday16th Jun 2023
News Xbox's Matt Booty Has Played The Perfect Dark Reboot And Is 'Very Excited'
He can't wait for fans to see it
One game absent from the recent Xbox Games Showcase was The Intiative's anticipated reboot of Perfect Dark. Fortunately, Xbox studio chief Matt Booty has provided a small but reassuring update during a chat with Axios, mentioning how he's actually been playing builds of the game and is loo
Thursday17th Nov 2022
News Xbox's Perfect Dark Reboot Going 'Extremely Well', According To Crystal Dynamics
The CEO gives his thoughts
We've still not seen anything more of Xbox and The Initiative's Perfect Dark reboot ever since it was revealed at The Game Awards back in December 2020, but the project has changed a little bit since that original announcement, most notably in the form of Crystal Dynamics (Rise of the Tomb Raider, Marvel's Avengers
Monday5th Sep 2022
News Xbox Exec Dispels Negative Rumours About Perfect Dark & Crystal Dynamics
"How we make games is evolving..."
When The Initiative announced last year it would be partnering with Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics to bring the first-person spy thriller Perfect Dark to a new generation, concerns were raised about the state of the game. These claims about development problems were stamped out, with reports the game was...
Friday19th Aug 2022
News Joanna Dark's OG Voice Actor 'Excited' For New Perfect Dark
"Technology has moved on so far"
One of the games we're most excited about here at Pure Xbox is the upcoming Perfect Dark title by The Initiative. We're not the only ones, either. Our friends over at Time Extension recently had the chance to chat with Eveline Novakovic - Joanna Dark's original voice actor - about the new game. Although it's unclear...
Monday8th Aug 2022
News Perfect Dark Supposedly Coming Along 'Really Well' Despite Previous Reports
According to WC's Jez Corden
Since Perfect Dark's reboot was announced at TGA 2020, we've not really heard much positivity on its development. In fact, reports have since said that developer The Initiative was struggling to get development going, especially before Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics
Thursday17th Mar 2022
News Perfect Dark Reportedly Led To 'Big Disagreement' At Xbox Studio The Initiative
"There emerged two schools of thought..."
It was reported earlier this week by Video Games Chronicle that Perfect Dark developer The Initiative was having problems with staff turnover, and now some insight from Windows Central has perhaps shed more light on the issues. According to Windows Central's Jez Corden, the possible reason for the...
Monday7th Mar 2022
News Perfect Dark And Avowed 'Probably' Coming In 2023, Says Jeff Grubb
It's nearly E3 season!
Microsoft's upcoming slate for Xbox is absolutely stacked, with a load of launches expected in 2023 and beyond. We're not exactly sure when a lot of these games will release, as many are knee-deep in development. However, on a recent crossover podcast, VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb spoke about what may come from Xbox Game...
Saturday25th Sep 2021
News Crystal Dynamics Is Absolutely 'Thrilled' To Be Working On The New Perfect Dark Game
"We thrive on reimagining epic heroes"
Yesterday, we got the surprise news that The Initiative would be partnering with Crystal Dynamics on the upcoming Perfect Dark game. The Xbox studio said it was "incredibly excited" to work with the developer known for titles like Tomb Raider, and in response to this, Crystal Dynamics has shared its own...
Friday24th Sep 2021
News The Initiative Partners With Crystal Dynamics On Perfect Dark
The "first-person spy thriller" is still "early in development"
Here's some breaking news - The Initiative has announced it will be partnering with Crystal Dynamics to help it bring the new Perfect Dark game to the next generation. Crystal Dynamics is best known for series such as Tomb Raider and was also behind the Square Enix project Marvel's...
Saturday12th Dec 2020
News The New Perfect Dark Isn't Just Your Typical First-Person Shooter
'We aren't shying away from gameplay diversity'
The Initiative undoubtedly had the biggest Xbox announcement of The Game Awards 2020 when it revealed it was working on a new Perfect Dark, and the team has talked a little more about what we can expect from the game. In a developer interview trailer, the studio spoke about the need to balance the...
Friday11th Dec 2020
News Xbox Studio The Initiative Is Making A New Perfect Dark
Check out the official announce trailer
It's official! After months of rumours, new Xbox studio The Initiative has finally revealed that it's working on a new Perfect Dark game, aiming to deliver a "secret agent thriller set in a near-future world." Few details have been revealed about the title so far - it's still in "early development" for now,...
