We may be talking about the next generation of Xbox before we can play Perfect Dark

It may not surprise you to learn that the perfect darkness reboot, which was unveiled in December 2020, has apparently had a tumultuous development journey. The game has never been shown, mentioned, or teased in any way in any setting since.

In December, we’ll be celebrating the third anniversary of its reveal, and it looks like we’ll be waiting a lot longer to play it. That’s according to a comprehensive new report from IGN about Perfect Dark, which paints a (sadly not unusual) picture of the state of development.

The report cites 13 people who worked on the game, who describe a constantly changing environment of ideas and goals, and a variety of setbacks due to the change of senior leadership and the departure of lead designers. According to the report, the game is likely two to three years away from release.

Considering that Microsoft built a new studio, The Initiative, with the specific task of rebooting the series, the company probably expected something to be released by now. Perfect Dark began development in 2018, two years before its presentation trailer in 2020.

The report says the game has “made little progress” since that reveal, despite having the support of Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, which joined in 2021 to co-develop it with The Initiative. The project, according to the report, was completely rebooted last year, with development now moving forward on Unreal Engine 5.

Seemingly aware of how long development has taken (and will continue), The Initiative is reportedly considering an episodic release of the game. That’s one direction things could go in at least, judging by the reported development plans, but IGN warns that plans may change.

Last year, Alex made the case that Perfect Dark needs to be more than just a spy game. According to IGN’s report, the developer is focusing on creating a strong narrative, with gameplay that is a mix of gadget-based stealth and action combat.