Blade cancellation is fake btw.
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Iām sorryā¦ā¦. but out of all the games that could have gotten cancelledā¦ā¦ thatās the one that sent you to the other consoleā¦. Okay
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wellā¦ shit: from Matt Booty
We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative. These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape. We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.
Our overall portfolio strategy is unchanged: build games that excite our players, continue to grow our biggest franchises, and create new stories, worlds, and characters. We have more than 40 projects in active development, continued momentum on titles shipping this fall, and a strong slate headed into 2026.
For those directly affected, we are working closely with HR and studio leadership to provide support, including severance, career transition assistance, and where possible, opportunities to explore roles on other teams. ļ»æ To everyone across our studios: thank you. Your creativity and resilience continue to define who we are. I believe in the strength of our teams and the direction weāre taking on the path ahead.
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The Initiative closing makes some sense with PD cancelled as I guess itās a really expensive studio to run and was created at a time Xbox didnāt have so many so-called AAA studiosā¦
Still sad though, poor devs and sad for their promise too as when first created it seemed weād get some massive games from them
Perfect Dark is cancelled
"Following Philās note, I want to share more about the changes to the Studios business units.
We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative. These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape. We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.
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I mean yay for 40 projects, but that doesnāt hinder the sad news transpired today. It is wild that majority of titles that came from first year of this gen either went drastic change (343i) or didnāt see the light of day. Iām glad State of Decay 3 is still alive, but I hope to see release date soon to escape possible death.
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Not surprised, I liked what I saw from PD. But I think Peter Gallagher really took Phil Spencer for a spin. I donāt know how you get two support studios helping you out for a number of years and still have barely anything to show.
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Not really since historically all Perfect Dark has in common with those games is being in the first person. Really fucking sucks if its canceled
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I have a lot of nostalgia for perfect dark. I was looking forward to the reimagining. Other than State of Decay 3, that was my most anticipated game coming out of Microsoft. So yes, that is the one that makes me question whether itās worth sticking with xbox next gen.
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So itās canceled. Fuck!
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Wow so i wrote praying for Perfect Dark and The Initiative and State of Decay 3 and Undead Labs.
And one of them got layoffs and the other simply got closed and itās game cancelled holy christ, these had been my two most anticipated games for years.
Iāll comment more once the day is over or in a few days but to say it quickly, no surprise that MS Gaming Studios have been terribly missmanaged since 2018 and whle iām not going to ask for any known boss to step down because, whateverā¦
Itās clear that they need somebody or a team thatās in charge of studying the viability of the studiosā projects, and either greenlight them or not allow them.
Itās a massacre and itās clear some studios like Compulsion, NT or Double Fine are in real danger
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Today sucked more than I was expecting tbh. Felt like a bit of doomerism last week but uhhh yeah actually turned out to be pretty bad.
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Itās like they want a refresh before next gen, whenever that will be.
The initiative studio is closed.
Biggest L since I started following xbox and stuff.
The studio closed without releasing any game. Think about all the time, money and resources wasted.
Absolutely insane. What is the management even doing?
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Microsoft continues to make it very hard to remain an Xbox fan.
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Phil Spencer and Matt Booty are jokes for how poorly they mishandled Xbox studios. We shouldnāt be in this scenario where a game Has been in development for 7 years and did a smoke and mirrors show last year to give false hope. I feel for all because poor management has failed employees and Xbox has lost their way with Phil in charge because we can longer blame Don when heās been in charge for 10+ years
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The issue isnāt that Perfect Dark is cancelled or the studio is closed. Itās been in development for 7+ years. There have been plenty of games revealed with a logo or CGI trailer that were later cancelled (remember Rockstarās Agent).
The issue is that they gave everyone false hope by doing the gameplay reveal in last yearās showcase, when everyone assumed it was cancelled. If you were going to cancel it, cancel it.
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I get it, development is just too costly and no one want to take the risks, even MS.
Perfect Dark took 7 years to get a teaser and a gameplay trailer out and itās just too damn long for anybody involved.
I would have hoped Everwild could have been a smaller project released in Early Access, like Grounded. Maybe it would have been better.
Obsidian feels like some kind of anomaly right now. These guys must feel blessed by some video games deities.
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Not to defend, but this is a new era, let alone one that can be said not recovered from a virus that was COVID. If Sony struggle and layoff and close studios down in this gen with their numbers still being good, then you know this era is not as well as last time. If it was last era, in theory or paper, this gen would have been phenomenal. But the reality is, this is how it is now.
With that all said this is the frustrating part. Realistically, they are doing fine, yet all these decisions still happen. Itās like why not just meet the finish line. Why not give them a chance? Thatās also something this era really highlighted at its worst.
Well that sucksā¦ Outside of Fable I would say Perfect Dark was one of my most anticipated games.
Absolutely loved PD back in the day and with Crystal Dynamics working on it (one of my favourite studios) it seemed like a absolute win.
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