Xbox gamers face heartbreaking news as huge N64 reboot gets cancelled

In a significant restructuring of its gaming division, Microsoft has announced the cancellation of two highly anticipated video games, Perfect Dark and Everwild, alongside widespread layoffs affecting approximately 9,000 employees globally.

The cuts represent a reported 4% of the company's total workforce and extend across all departments, including gaming.

As part of these changes, Microsoft has shuttered The Initiative, the studio behind the Perfect Dark reboot. This marks the only studio closure within Microsoft Gaming and Xbox during this round of layoffs.

Perfect Dark, a modern reimagining of the classic Rare game, had been in development for nearly seven years and faced a challenging production, with its first gameplay footage shown only last summer. It was, at one point, being tipped as the first AAAA game (don’t worry, no one knew what it meant), but now it’s unlikely we will see it again.

Perfect Dark - Gameplay Reveal - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 - YouTube

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Rare's fantasy title Everwild has also been cancelled. Although announced in 2019, the game had a troubled development history, reportedly restarting from scratch in 2021 and being in development for approximately 10 years. Rare itself will not be closed.

Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty stated that these decisions "reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape." Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Gaming, further explained that the cuts are designed to "end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness."

Beyond these two high-profile cancellations, Microsoft has also confirmed the termination of several unannounced projects. While these are the most recent layoffs to impact the video game industry, Microsoft is not alone; competitors like Sony's PlayStation have also undergone significant workforce reductions and studio closures in recent years, with it feeling like there’s a new round of layoffs every week in the games industry.

Despite the cancellations, Xbox currently has over 40 projects in active development, and every game featured at the Xbox Games Showcase presentation in June is reportedly still in development.

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