After the confirmation that Xbox would be shutting down four different studios from Bethesda, like Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, the creators of Redfall and Hi-Fi Rush suffered the first consequences, but according to several reports by an industry specialist, the gaming brand from Microsoft still has some projects that may suffer the same fate in the near future.
Jeff Grubb from Giantbomb confirmed that the studio behind Perfect Dark is not in the best stage of development; it appears that the studio doesn’t know what to do.
The Initiative Could Be Suffering the Same Fate as these Other Studios
It appears that the industry is not putting an end to the wave of layoffs that has been happening since last year. Since the start of 2024, various gaming studios worldwide have lost nearly 10,000 jobs. Xbox has just shut down four more studios. Among the studios were Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. This last one followed Redfall, one of Microsoft’s biggest failures ever. It seems that another game will have the same issues.
The Initiative, an internal Xbox Game Studios company, began with a remake of the 2000 game Perfect Dark.
Fans were very excited about this. In the recent Giantbomb podcast, Jeff Grubb said that the title was in a very rough stage where even Microsoft doesn’t know what to do with its development. Founded in 2016, this studio has not released any IPs or announced any other games except for this remake.
Xbox is Likely to Make More Changes and Layoffs
Grubb stated that the game began as a first-person shooter, but the studio remains uncertain about its future direction should it launch.
Other industry insiders, such as Liam (@liamrobertson.bsky), claim that the title is a complete mess, and that cancellation is a possibility if things continue as they are.
From what little I have heard about the development of the new Perfect Dark, it sounds like a future video in the making. Just a big, protracted mess.
— Liam (@liamrobertson.bsky) (@Doctor_Cupcakes) May 7, 2024
Alex Donaldson, a video game critic, talked about how the studio is pushing against the current to make something playable, but the patience is running out, and it could mean the end of the whole project. The message is that Microsoft is not thinking that far ahead; that is the problem.
lmao. I have some crazy stories about the development of that game I have not put in print out of respect for a team really trying hard to push a boulder up a steep hill. But my patience is getting thin
— Alex Donaldson (@APZonerunner) May 7, 2024
The studio director, Darrell Gallagher, lost many employees in 2022 when the company announced that Crystal Dynamics would be helping with the development of Perfect Dark, but there is no clue about the current state of this title; there is not even an idea of the main character or the story.
Aside from titles like Gears of War or Call of Duty, the upcoming Summer Showcase will introduce a variety of games, but expectations will be lower than ever due to Microsoft’s recent terrible decisions.
Fans will not be really happy with the idea of launching this company in the upcoming months; they need an extraordinary IP to make all this disappear, at least for the moment. June 9 will be a pivotal moment for this major company.
What are your thoughts about this complicated situation? Let us know in the comments!
