A new report from VideoGamesChronicle suggests that the Perfect Dark reboot in the works at The Initiative might still be several years away due to a veritable wave of departures from the Santa Monica-based studio.

　　According to the report, around 34 people have left The Initiative during the last year, while only 12 new hires were made in the same timeframe. That leaves the estimated headcount at less than 50 developers. The article cites anonymous sources stating that the issue stemmed from a top-down culture which slowed development progress and frustrated the creative autonomy of the developers. This also explains the decision to bring Crystal Dynamics on board to lead the development of Perfect Dark.

　　Studio Head Darrell Gallagher offered a comment to VideoGamesChronicle regarding the many departures that affected The Initiative over the last twelve months or so.

　　It’s no small task to build a studio and reinvent a beloved franchise. In creating The Initiative, we set out to leverage co-development partnerships to achieve our ambitions, and we’re really excited about all the progress we’re seeing with our relationship with Crystal Dynamics.

　　In this journey, it’s not uncommon for there to be staffing changes, especially during a time of global upheaval over the last two years, and there’s plenty more work in front of us to deliver a fantastic Perfect Dark experience to our players.

　　We wish all our former colleagues the very best, and I’m confident in the team we have in place, the new talent joining, and we can’t wait to share more with the fans.

　　This paints a very different picture from the latest rumors shared by Jeff Grubb. The GamesBeat journalist said last week the game could still be released in 2023 and was likely to be demonstrated at E3 2022. Today's report by VGC, on the other hand, makes it sound like we'd be lucky to get our hands on Perfect Dark in late 2024 or even 2025.

　　Stay tuned for more updates and rumors on the upcoming Perfect Dark reboot.