A reboot of the Perfect Dark series for Xbox Series S|X consoles is in the works, as Microsoft looks to revive the franchise after over two decades. Announced in 2018, the game’s development is currently being led by developer The Initiative.

Crystal Dynamics is assisting with the project. However, a new report points out a number of concerns. Based on IGN, the game is unlikely to release before 2025. The report states that Perfect Dark is two or three years away from release, indicating that the game has undergone a number of reboots. The game was first started development with Certain Affinity as a co-developer.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work out, and the team lost several developers over the years. Developers could not decide on the core mechanics of the game and kept considering different ideas. Perfect Dark was therefore never properly developed. This issue became more problematic when the developers decided to switch to Unreal Engine 5 in 2022. The switch was made just before Crystal Dynamics became involved.

Sources describe Perfect Dark as a narrative-focused FPS mixing combat and espionage with spy gadgets and some experimental movement tech. It’s now reportedly moving in the right direction, even if there’s a long way to go yet.

Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty stated that Perfect Dark gameplay would arrive by 2024. In this case, we should take it with a grain of salt. Still, Microsoft is betting on Crystal Dynamics and The Initiative, hoping to deliver a solid game since Rare’s Perfect Dark Zero launched alongside the Xbox 360 in 2005.