Originally formed to create what Microsoft refers to as AAAA titles, The Initiative as had no shortage of top industry talent join its ranks. Located in Santa Monica, California, The Initiative has managed to attract developers from all over the games industry including talent who worked for studios like Naughty Dog, Irrational Games, Blizzard, Insomniac, and plenty more. Fan excitement rose even more when it was revealed at the 2020 Game Awards that The Initiative is working on a Perfect Dark reboot.

RELATED: Rumor: Perfect Dark Reboot Could Be Live Service Game

However, the game has since gone dark and new reports indicate that the reason is due to turmoil within the company. Industry insiders are now saying that The Initiative has lost nearly half of its core Perfect Dark development team over the part year including most of the senior design team. Already, the studio has lost key members like game director Dan Neuburger, design director Drew Murray, lead level designer Chris O’Neill, and much more.

Apparently, many of these departures seems to align with the September 2021 reveal that Crystal Dynamics was brought in as a support studio to assist on the Perfect Dark project. According to sources, Crystal Dynamics has been given more authority on the projects than initially expected, which has seemingly caused development related issues which include a lack of creative autonomy and slow development progress. Some have even criticized the studio’s heavy “top-down” management style, leading to a massive slowdown on the project’s momentum and progress.

For now, project leadership which includes studio head Darrell Gallagher, remain committed and confident in the team that continues to work on the Perfect Dark reboot. Crystal Dynamics will likely be filling in the development holes from the high turnover at The Initiative. There’s also rumors circulating that Perfect Dark could be getting a soft reboot due to all of the core staff departures, but for now, these reports are unconfirmed, so fans should take things with a grain of salt.

Perfect Dark is in development.

MORE: Other Games That Should Join Perfect Dark at E3 2022

Source: VideoGamesChronicle