HomeMicrosoft Reportedly Scraps Xbox Titles Perfect Dark and Everwild
Microsoft has canceled development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as part of broader workforce reductions across its Xbox division. In a memo sent to employees, Matt Booty, President of Game Content and Studios at Xbox, confirmed the closure of The Initiative, the studio responsible for Perfect Dark.
These changes are part of wider layoffs affecting approximately 9,000 Microsoft employees, with Turn 10 Studios, the team behind Forza Motorsport, also significantly impacted.
Below is Booty’s full memo to staff:
Following Phil’s note, I’d like to share more details about the changes within our Studios organization.
We have decided to halt development on Perfect Dark and Everwild, along with winding down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this shift, we will be closing The Initiative studio. These moves, combined with other adjustments across our teams, are designed to realign our priorities and allocate resources more effectively, positioning our teams for success in a rapidly evolving industry. We did not arrive at these decisions easily, as each project and team represents years of dedication, creativity, and hard work.
Our overall portfolio strategy remains unchanged: we will continue building games that excite our players, grow our most popular franchises, and introduce compelling new stories, worlds, and characters. We currently have over 40 projects in active development, strong momentum with titles launching this fall, and a robust pipeline extending into 2026.
For those directly affected by these changes, we're working closely with HR and studio leadership to offer comprehensive support, including severance packages, career transition services, and, where available, opportunities to explore roles within other teams.
To everyone working across our studios: thank you. Your creativity and resilience continue to shape who we are. I'm confident in our teams' strength and the direction we're headed as we move forward.
Matt
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Why does Microsoft keep canceling promising titles? They need to sort out their management issues ASAP. Perfect Dark had so much potential... 😞
Microsoft has canceled development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as part of broader workforce reductions across its Xbox division. In a memo sent to employees, Matt Booty, President of Game Content and Studios at Xbox, confirmed the closure of The Initiative, the studio responsible for Perfect Dark.
These changes are part of wider layoffs affecting approximately 9,000 Microsoft employees, with Turn 10 Studios, the team behind Forza Motorsport, also significantly impacted.
Below is Booty’s full memo to staff:
Following Phil’s note, I’d like to share more details about the changes within our Studios organization.
We have decided to halt development on Perfect Dark and Everwild, along with winding down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this shift, we will be closing The Initiative studio. These moves, combined with other adjustments across our teams, are designed to realign our priorities and allocate resources more effectively, positioning our teams for success in a rapidly evolving industry. We did not arrive at these decisions easily, as each project and team represents years of dedication, creativity, and hard work.
Our overall portfolio strategy remains unchanged: we will continue building games that excite our players, grow our most popular franchises, and introduce compelling new stories, worlds, and characters. We currently have over 40 projects in active development, strong momentum with titles launching this fall, and a robust pipeline extending into 2026.
For those directly affected by these changes, we're working closely with HR and studio leadership to offer comprehensive support, including severance packages, career transition services, and, where available, opportunities to explore roles within other teams.
To everyone working across our studios: thank you. Your creativity and resilience continue to shape who we are. I'm confident in our teams' strength and the direction we're headed as we move forward.
Matt
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Why does Microsoft keep canceling promising titles? They need to sort out their management issues ASAP. Perfect Dark had so much potential... 😞
