Microsoft Gave Perfect Dark’s Developers A Chance To Save The Game — After It Was Already Canceled

In July, Microsoft’s sweeping layoffs deed Xbox hard, and shuttered nan full crippled workplace that was building Perfect Dark. Officially, the crippled was canceled. But unofficially, reports Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Microsoft gave Perfect Dark’s different group of developers — Tomb Raider workplace Crystal Dynamics — a chance to revive nan game.

Here’s wherever it gets perchance confusing: Microsoft doesn’t ain Crystal Dynamics — that workplace belongs to nan Embracer Group, which has had many troubles of its own. So Embracer was trying to trim a woody pinch yet another publisher, nan elephantine Take-Two, to buy, fund, and people nan game. But, Schreier reports:

the talks collapsed astatine slightest successful portion because nan companies progressive were incapable to travel to position complete semipermanent ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise, said nan people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak astir delicate negotiations.

When that woody fell through, it reportedly led to nan caller information of layoffs astatine Crystal Dynamics that IGN reported past week, and Schreier writes that Crystal Dynamics has now “fully” abandoned nan game.

Seems Microsoft didn’t want to springiness up nan authorities to Perfect Dark, which it presumably obtained erstwhile it bought Rare successful 2002. (For nan uninitiated, Perfect Dark was a belief successor to Rare’s deed Goldeneye 007 connected nan Nintendo 64, a crippled that itself went galore decades without a revival because of a analyzable licensing situation.) That feels for illustration a crummy logic for nan crippled to enactment canceled, but we don’t cognize nan details.

Microsoft was capable to agent a erstwhile woody to save Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks by trading it to PUBG elephantine Krafton, but it was nether a batch of unit there. Hi-Fi Rush had already been released, had become a “break retired hit” that won “prestige and awards”, and gamers were pissed that Microsoft had rewarded its developers pinch layoffs.

For now, you tin still watch the caller Perfect Dark’s trailers and developer interview.