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 the full crippled workplace that was gathering Perfect Dark. Officially, the crippled was canceled. But unofficially, reports Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Microsoft gave Perfect Dark’s different acceptable of developers — Tomb Raider workplace Crystal Dynamics — a accidental to revive the game.

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

the talks collapsed astatine slightest successful portion due to the fact that the companies progressive were incapable to travel to presumption implicit semipermanent ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise, said the people, who requested anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk astir delicate negotiations.

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

Seems Microsoft didn’t privation to springiness up the rights to Perfect Dark, which it presumably obtained erstwhile it bought Rare successful 2002. (For the uninitiated, Perfect Dark was a spiritual successor to Rare’s deed Goldeneye 007 connected the Nintendo 64, a crippled that itself went galore decades without a revival due to the fact that of a analyzable licensing situation.) That feels similar a crummy crushed for the crippled to enactment canceled, but we don’t cognize the details.

Microsoft was capable to broker a erstwhile woody to save Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks by selling 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 with layoffs.

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