The cancellation of Perfect Dark and the simultaneous ending of The Initiative were shocking developments for many. Especially considering that the studio released lengthy gameplay snippets (most of which were fake) shortly before its untimely shutdown.
Perfect Dark's progress may have impressed Take-Two despite Xbox's cancellation of the project. That's because Bloomberg's Jason Schreier revealed earlier this year that the Grand Theft Auto publisher was attempting to save the project by acquiring both the IP and the studio.
The perfect dark lead hired by Take-Two
Earlier this year I broke the news that Take-Two was close to rescuing Perfect Dark for Xbox, but the deal fell through. Now there is a new development. Take-Two hired Perfect Dark studio head Darrell Gallagher and director Brian Horton to launch an entirely new studio within 2K. — Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-12-08T21:51:37.009Z
Now, Schreier is reporting that the deal has finally fallen apart and Perfect Dark will remain on Xbox for the foreseeable future. But Take-Two hired studio head Darrell Gallagher and director Brian Horton to find a new studio under 2K. They won't continue Perfect Dark, but at least something has been created from the wreckage of the project.
“With 60 years of experience creating AAA games across franchises such as Tomb Raider, Call of Duty, Destiny, Marvel's Spider-Man, Hitman, Deus Ex and more, we are thrilled to confirm that Darrell Gallagher and Brian Horton have joined 2K for an all-new venture,” a spokesperson told IGN.
It's encouraging to see Gallagher and Horton have the opportunity to begin a new project for 2K, and the pair will likely hire additional developers who worked on The Initiative before the studio's closure. But Perfect Dark wasn't saved, and that's a shame for everyone involved in that project.
Perfect Dark was reportedly close to being salvaged, but a deal for ownership fell through.
Take-Two reportedly wanted to purchase Perfect Dark from Microsoft, but no agreement was reached.
The end of the initiative coincided with the cancellation of several projects by Xbox. An unnamed sci-fi MMO was canceled by ZeniMax, and Rare's Everwild was also canceled despite nearly a decade of development on the project.
Due to Xbox's ongoing identity crisis, it's unlikely that Perfect Dark will be passed over to another studio in the near future. With no series releases since 2010, it looks like Perfect Dark will be returning from hibernation.
It took a concerted effort by Joanna Dark actor Alix Wilton Regan and others to save the project, but unfortunately that page seems to have turned on this particular page in Perfect Dark's history.
