You don’t work in game journalism without seeing the word Xbox a lot. Even if Microsoft isn’t moving as many units as PlayStation and Nintendo these days, it’s still at the center of conversations, and Xbox Game Pass is always adding new titles. It’s also, however, at the center of a lot of bad news.
In the past few years, Xbox has closed studios and canceled games at an alarming rate, and not every casualty was necessarily doomed to fail. Shuttered studios like Tango GameWorks and Arkane Austin might not have delivered massive profits recently, but they boasted enormous talent and strong pedigrees. One announcement that I found particularly painful was the cancellation of the Perfect Dark reboot, and the latest news just reminded me why seeing Xbox games in the news is rarely fun.
A Deal To Save Perfect Dark Fell Through
Microsoft & Take-Two Were In Talks
A Bloomberg piece by Jason Schreier revealed that Perfect Dark actually had a chance at resurrection, with Microsoft and Take-Two Interactive having been in talks to transfer ownership of the game. If anyone has money to burn, it’s probably Take-Two, which steadily generates massive revenue from GTA Online and has GTA 6 on the horizon.
Unfortunately, the deal fell through, apparently due to difficulties agreeing on “long-term ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise.” As a result, Crystal Dynamics has laid off some of its staff, a move that was announced last week without clarifying the reasons for the lay-offs.
Learning about lay-offs is always hard, but this particular piece of news is especially painful. Usually, you’re just flipping a switch — a game or studio existed, and now it doesn’t. Things are always more complicated behind the scenes, but those of us outside the blast radius don’t get to learn many of the details.
Take-Two Could Have Given Perfect Dark A Chance
So Much Unrealized Potential
Knowing that Perfect Dark was actually close to being saved makes the blow that much worse, and it’s hard not to be frustrated with Xbox here. What need does Microsoft have for the Perfect Dark rights if the company isn’t willing to commit to the reboot? Are random residuals and the potential to squeeze money out of future ports and remasters that important for a company of its scale?
Clutching onto IP is the name of the game for major corporations, so it’s not exactly surprising that Xbox isn’t willing to give it up. Landing at Take-Two also might not have guaranteed Perfect Dark a future. The company recently laid off developers working on the BioShock franchise, apparently following a review of the game’s progress that highlighted an underwhelming narrative for the next entry.
All the same, I’d like Perfect Dark to be in the hands of a publisher that’s at least interested in finishing up its most ambitious project yet. Perfect Dark probably had a long way to go, but the gameplay concepts highlighted in its 2024 showcase were full of potential. I would have happily taken a final product that was downscaled to something more manageable, as long as the core ideas remained intact.
It’s Hard To Have Faith In The Future Of Xbox Games
You Never Know What Will Survive
I fear that I’m starting to develop a negative Pavlovian response to seeing headlines about Xbox games. If the words “Game Pass” are there, it’s probably safe — the worst that tends to happen is a price increase or a few games leaving the service. Anything else, though, and the odds of a positive update are starting to look increasingly slim.
Things aren’t always sunshine and rainbows over at Xbox’s competitors, but neither PlayStation nor Nintendo tend to be quite as brutal. Recent PlayStation cancellations have mostly focused on projects that didn’t sound very promising anyway, with a number of planned live-service games never making it to the finish line. While negative Nintendo headlines focusing on aggressive litigation or price increases crop up occasionally, Nintendo is a lot better at avoiding lay-offs.
I’m still looking forward to some things Xbox has in the pipeline. September 4 will be an incredible day for Xbox fans, with both Hollow Knight: Silksong and an expansion for the fantastic Indiana Jones and the Great Circle arriving on Game Pass. Arkane’s original studio in Lyon has Marvel’s Blade on the horizon, and Fable has to release eventually, right?
Everything that’s not directly ahead on the calendar, though, is becoming increasingly hard to trust. Early reports suggested Marvel’s Blade might have been among the last wave of cancelations, and although that didn’t turn out to be true, I still don’t feel safe. Xbox just isn’t a reliable environment for getting games across the finish line right now, and it seems like every batch of a few positive updates is bookended by disastrous ones.
While the new Perfect Dark update doesn’t really change the status quo, it’s hard not to imagine how exciting it would have been to see Microsoft and Take-Two successfully work out a deal. Xbox is so close to being an incredible home for games, but I’m tired of seeing it shut down its most exciting possibilities.
- Brand
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Xbox
- Original Release Date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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Series X priced at US$499 and the Series S priced at US$299
- Weight
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9.8 lb
