Concept art and gameplay information from Xbox’s cancelled Perfect Dark game has been shared
The game was announced in 2020 but was officially cancelled in July
New information and concept art relating to Xbox’s cancelled Perfect Dark reboot has been shared online.
Internal documentation acquired by MP1st shows concept art for some of the game’s locations, as well as gameplay details.
The documentation refers to game concepts like a Relentless System and a Reward System, but goes into more detail on another concept, the Adrenaline System.
According to the description, this would have made adrenaline a finite resource which the player could have regenerated over time. Having adrenaline would have given the player various abilities, such as healing, increasing damage dealt and reducing damage taken.
Other adrenaline features would have included slowing down time to dodge bullets, better aiming precision and increased movement speed.
The documentation also refers to Season 1, implying the game may have been episodic, and includes concept art for the various ‘eco sci-fi’ locations set to be featured in the first season, including Cairo.
Perfect Dark, a reboot of the classic spy shooter from developer Rare, was announced in 2020 and featured in last year’s Xbox Summer Showcase.
However, it was then announced in July 2025 that the game had been cancelled and developer The Initiative had been closed down, with Xbox Game Studios’ Matt Booty saying the decisions “reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape”.
In a company-wide email announcing The Initiative’s closure, Microsoft also confirmed the cancellation of Rare’s Everwild.
It was claimed earlier this month that Take-Two was reportedly in discussions to save the Perfect Dark reboot, but that negotiations recently collapsed over details of a potential deal.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that the collapse of talks between Microsoft, Take-Two, and Crystal Dynamics owner Embracer resulted in an unspecified number of layoffs at Crystal Dynamics last month. The studio had been co-developing the game alongside The Initiative.
