The news was initially confirmed in a statement signed by Brenda Romero and posted on X. “Last night, we learned that our publisher has canceled funding for our game along with several other unannounced projects at other studios,

Microsoft announced sweeping layoffs affecting as many as 9,000 employees, and they had a big impact on the company’s Xbox studios. Microsoft canceled Perfect Dark from The Initiative and closed the studio.

These changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before,” said Xbox head Phil Spencer in an email to staff.

And all of this is after more layoffs and shutdown 18 months ago which closed Arkan Austin, Alpha Dog Games and the developer of Xbox’s best game in a while, Hi-Fi Rush’s Tango Gameworks, which had to be saved by another company.

Microsoft is reducing its global workforce by nearly 4%. Gaming is among the departments affected, and as a result, Xbox has abandoned games like Everwild and Perfect Dark.

The Initiative, the Xbox studio developing a modern reimagining of Perfect Dark, is being shut down, and development of the game is ending. As first reported by Windows Central, the studio's closure is part of major cuts Microsoft is making across its business,