The Embracer Group recently announced that it’ll be acquiring the vast majority of Square Enix’s business outside of Japan. Specifically, it’s acquiring Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal, and IPs like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, and more in a deal worth $300 million. There’s a lot to unpack there as it is, and one of the many things to consider is Crystal Dynamics’ projects- more specifically, Perfect Dark.
Microsoft and developer The Initiative announced in September 2021 that it would be partnering with Crystal Dynamics, and that the two studios would be serving as co-developers on the upcoming Perfect Dark revival. As you’d expect, that deal will continue to be honored once this deal has been completed.
Taking to Twitter, The Initiative said, “Our teams have made great progress in building Perfect Dark together as co-development partners, and we will be continuing this work with them in their next chapter.”
Earlier this year, reports claimed that The Initiative’s partnership with Crystal Dynamics had been necessitated by internal issues at the former, which included a “fast and furious” wave of departures, with nearly half of the game’s core development team reportedly having left the studio. Reportedly, Crystal Dynamics is essentially the lead developer on Perfect Dark– read more on that through here.