New internal documents from The Initiative's canceled Perfect Dark reboot project have surfaced online. The materials outline gameplay mechanics and artwork that the public never saw before, offering a clearer sense of how the shelved Perfect Dark revival was shaping up before its production stopped.
Xbox Game Studios subsidiary The Initiative revealed its Perfect Dark reboot at the December 2020 edition of The Game Awards. Half a decade later, Microsoft announced it was scrapping the project and closing its Santa Monica-based developer as part of company-wide cost-cutting efforts. It is unclear how many people were laid off as a result of the move. The Initiative’s most recent headcount estimate stood at 50 employees in 2021, though the studio likely expanded after development on its ill-fated final project began.
Two and a half months following Perfect Dark's cancellation, some previously unseen internal documents from the project have emerged online, having been procured by MP1st. The leaked materials describe a first-person spy thriller set in a futuristic Cairo and outline several gameplay mechanics. One, called the "Adrenaline System," would treat adrenaline as a regenerating resource that players could spend on abilities such as bullet time, improved aiming, or...
