Microsoft halts Perfect Dark reboot, shuts down The Initiative
Microsoft is letting go of about 9,000 employees—roughly 4% of its workforce—in its biggest round of layoffs in over two years.
The cuts hit several divisions, including Xbox gaming and sales.
Many affected teams across gaming division
The layoffs led to the closure of The Initiative (the studio rebooting Perfect Dark) and the cancelation of both Perfect Dark and Rare's Everwild.
Other teams like King (lost 10% of staff), Turn 10 (nearly half gone), ZeniMax Media's marketing crew, plus Activision Blizzard's Raven and Sledgehammer studios were also affected.
The initiative was rebooting Perfect Dark
The Initiative was created in 2018 just to bring back Perfect Dark—a cult-favorite first-person shooter from the Nintendo 64 days.
It's rare for Microsoft to form a whole team around a single franchise.
These changes come as Microsoft tries to streamline after its $69 billion Activision Blizzard buyout.