The journalist VGC’s Andy Robinson insists with his vision of the development of Perfect Dark as problematic, precisely in response to the reassuring tones of Microsoft’s Matt Booty on the subject, stating that many developers have abandoned The Initiative following problemswhich apparently also appear to be “cultural”although it is not explained what it is.
After Matt Booty reported in his PAX West interview that development on Perfect Dark is progressing well even with most work handed over to Crystal Dynamics, Andy Robinson further clarified his earlier report on ongoing issues at inside The Initiative, correcting the shot on some aspects but also reaffirming the critical vision of the situation.
According to people interviewed by Robinson, who apparently spoke to some of the developers who left The Initiative and Perfect Dark, the main cause of the conflicts would not have been the handover to Crystal Dynamics, contrary to what had previously emerged. This division of tasks seems to have actually been shared by many developers on the team, aware of the importance of maintaining The Initiative as a relatively small team and primarily functioning as an “incubator of ideas” to be developed with external support.
However, the exit of many developers would still be a negative sign for the journalist, who in fact reports how many of those questioned have pointed the finger above all at the leadership of The Initiative and at mysterious “cultural problems” which, however, are not better defined, therefore we do not know what do they refer to.
It should be noted, however, that most of the developers who left The Initiative were not at odds with Microsoft, so much so that many of these have moved to other teams however within Xbox Games Studios. We therefore look forward to any further insights into the matter, as well as updates on Perfect Dark, of course.
