You probably won’t be surprised because perfect darkness Launching in December 2020, Reboot seems to have had a tumultuous development journey. Since then, the game has never been shown, mentioned or teased in any way on any stage.
In December, we’ll be celebrating its third anniversary, and it looks like we’ll have to wait even longer to actually play it. That’s according to an extensive new report on Perfect Dark published by IGN, which paints a (unfortunately not unusual) picture of the state of development.
The report cites 13 game developers who describe an environment of changing ideas and goals, as well as a series of setbacks due to senior leadership changes and the departure of core designers. According to reports, the game could be two to three years away from release.
Considering that Microsoft has established a new studio, The Initiative, with the specific mission of rebooting the series, the company may be looking forward to releasing something now. Development on Perfect Dark began in 2018, two years before a trailer was released in 2020.
Despite the backing of Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, which joined in 2021 to co-develop with The Initiative, the game has “moved very little” since launch, the report said. According to reports, the project was completely restarted last year and is currently being developed on Unreal Engine 5.
Seemingly aware of how long development has taken (and will continue), The Initiative is reportedly considering releasing the game in episodic form. Judging by the reported development plans, that’s at least one direction things could go, but IGN warns that plans could change.
Last year, Alex argued that Perfect Dark was more than just a spy game. According to an IGN report, the developers are focused on creating a strong narrative, and the gameplay is a mix of action combat and gadget-based stealth.