UPDATE 6:27pm UK: Chris Linn, senior producer at Zenimax Online Studios, has confirmed the cancellation of the unnanounced MMO on LinkedIn.
Linn wrote: “Hi everyone! Our amazing MMO project was just cancelled, I am starting to poke around for new remote work.”
Executive producer Sean Dunn wrote his own statement about the cancellation on LinkedIn, stating: “Today was one of the biggest dissapointments of my 35 year long career in games. My dissapointment isn’t primarily for myself, but for my team, and for players that will never get to play the amazing game we were building.”
Dunn continues: “This team is one of the best groups of people I’ve been able to work with. They treated each other with kindness and respect on a daily basis. I fell so honored to have been able to help lead them. If you have open roles, please hit me up and I can guide you to the right folks on the team.”
“To the team, I just want to say that I love you. You deserve better.”
ORIGINAL STORY 6:21pm UK:
The reboot of Perfect Dark developed by The Initiative has been cancelled as part of the latest round of cuts at Microsoft, as well as a new MMORPG project from Elder Scrolls Online maker Zenimax Online Studios.
Earlier today, we reported another round of layoffs across Microsoft, which included job losses at King and Zenimax. Rare’s Everwild has also reportedly been cancelled.
Eurogamer now understands Perfect Dark is also among the cuts, confirmed by Bloomberg Journalist Jason Schreier. In addition Bloomberg has reported the MMORPG – code-named Blackbird and in development since 2018 – has additionally been cancelled. Microsoft is yet to officially comment.
The reboot of Rare’s series was first announced back in December 2020, and has been in development at new Xbox Game Studios developer The Initiative. After numerous setbacks, Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics was brought in to assist.
“How we make games is evolving,” said Microsoft Studios’ Matt Booty back in 2022. “The idea of a single team under one roof really doesn’t happen that often anymore.”
In May 2024, reports suggested “little meaningful progress” had been made since the game’s unveiling and the reboot was in “a very rough state”.
However, a first gameplay trailer for Perfect Dark was then shown in June 2024 at the Xbox Games Showcase. It showed protagonist Joanna Dark stealthily exploring a near-future Cairo in first-person, with plenty of parkour and spy gadgets.
No release window was given for the game and, now, it appears development troubles have continued, leading to its cancellation.
The original Perfect Dark was released on the N64 by Rare as a spiritual successor to its successful GoldenEye game. A second game, Perfect Dark Zero, was released on the Xbox 360 after Microsoft acquired the developer.
