Perfect Dark Reboot "Heavily Affected" By Developers Leaving In Past Year - Report

The development team working on the Perfect Dark reboot for Microsoft has lost a number of staffers in the past year, but top brass at the studio, The Initiative, remains confident in the team and the game.

VGC discovered through LinkedIn that about 34 people have left The Initiative in the past year, including game director Dan Neuburger and design director Drew Murray. Numerous other staffers across a variety of disciplines also left the team in the past 12 months, it was discovered.

The staffing losses in the past year coincide with the announcement that Crystal Dynamics has been brought on as a co-developer on the Perfect Dark reboot.

Former senior developers on the Perfect Dark reboot at The Initiative said they left the team due in part to how there was a "lack of creative autonomy and slow development progress," according to VGC. The development momentum on the Perfect Dark reboot has been "heavily affected" by the departures, the report said.

The former developers told VGC that some staffers became frustrated by The Initiative's reported "top-down" approach to decision-making when it comes to design choices.

"According to the former employees, many senior team members were frustrated by this perceived lack of autonomy and didn't feel heard on key issues such as development priorities, project planning, and team staffing," the report said.

The Initiative boss Darrell Gallagher told VGC that the staffing changes are not uncommon for a new studio taking over a "beloved franchise." Not only that, but Gallagher cited the "global upheaval" over the past couple years as an explanation in part for the staffing changes.

Gallagher said he wishes all the departing developers "the very best," adding that he feels confident about the team in place currently, and the new staffers coming aboard. Whether or not the release schedule for the Perfect Dark reboot was affected by these changes is unknown, but Gallagher acknowledged that there is "plenty more work" to do on the game before it's ready for release.

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