Take-Two was reportedly in discussions to finance and publish the reboot of Perfect Dark

Reports have surfaced that Take-Two Interactive engaged in discussions to finance and distribute the Perfect Dark reboot by The Initiative, subsequent to the studio's shutdown in July.

As reported by Bloomberg, insiders disclosed that the agreement ultimately collapsed, leading to recent layoffs at Crystal Dynamics, one of the game's developers.

The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics executives reportedly spent two months in talks with several entities to secure funding, culminating in potential negotiations with Take-Two and Embracer, Crystal Dynamics' parent company.

The negotiations faltered over disagreements regarding the long-term rights to the Perfect Dark franchise.

Attempts to obtain comments from Embracer, Xbox, and Take-Two were unsuccessful as all declined to respond to Bloomberg's inquiries.

The reboot of Perfect Dark was initially unveiled during The Game Awards in 2020, marking the debut project of The Initiative, a Microsoft-owned studio formed in 2018.

Three years later, in 2023, the game reportedly remained in the pre-production phase, still far from completion.

The development initially involved Certain Affinity, later shifting to include Crystal Dynamics as a co-developer in 2021.

Crystal Dynamics, along with Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal, became part of the Embracer Group in a $300 million acquisition deal.