Since leaving id Software and DOOM behind, John Romero has been operating his own independent studio in Ireland. Over the last couple of years, Romero Games has been working on a new first-person shooter, but now the studio is closing after losing funding from its unnamed publisher. 

In a statement this week, Brenda Romero confirmed that the studio has lost its funding, saying: “last night, we learned that our publisher has canceled funding for our game along with several other unannounced projects at other studios. This was a strategic decision made at a high level within the publisher, well above our visibility or control. We deeply wish there had been something, anything we could have done to prevent this outcome.”

As reported by VGC, a Romero Games employee made the claim that the entire studio has been let go following this news. The studio employed around 75 people, all working on a new FPS game in Unreal Engine 5. While Romero Games did not name the publisher that pulled funding, it doesn't take much to piece together a likely culprit – Microsoft.

This week, Microsoft announced plans to layoff 9000 employees across various divisions. The Xbox division was hit hard by this, with multiple studios closing and several games being cancelled. including a new MMO from Zenimax Online studios, Everwild from Rare Studios and Perfect Dark from The Initiative. This unannounced FPS from Romero Games appears to be amongst the casualties.

Romero Games is now “evaluating next steps” and has not confirmed the number of layoffs resulting from this cancelled game.

KitGuru Says: For years, Microsoft's messaging was that it wanted to support smaller studios in an effort to get more creative titles for Game Pass. Since acquiring Activision Blizzard, they appear to have done a 180 and are now all in on feeding the AAA machine, leaving smaller teams by the wayside. 

While Destiny 2 is in a bit of an odd place currently, the franchise as a whole is looking far more positive thanks to the upcoming mobile-exclusive Destiny: Rising. Officially unveiled late last year, the game is now set to arrive on both iOS and Android this August.

For the uninitiated, Destiny: Rising is a mobile-exclusive take on the Destiny formula. Developed in collaboration with NetEase (Marvel Rivals, Blood Message; Diablo Immortal etc…), the game was officially announced back in October of last year alongside a 2025 release year.

Following various playtests, NetEase has now announced that Destiny: Rising is launching on the 28th of August on both iOS and Android.

Sentiment surrounding the spin-off during its playtests have been positive, with the mobile release including many of the familiar elements from regular D2 (including a traditional campaign; patrol zones; PvP and more) while also adding its own unique aspects such as a rogue-lite mode; a 3rd-person option and deeper hero-shooter styled gameplay.

NetEase has plenty of experience in developing spin-offs of popular console games for mobile, and so hopefully Destiny: Rising proves to be a welcome addition to the Destiny universe – and isn’t too egregious with its gacha mechanics. You can pre-register for the game right now.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to Destiny Rising? Could it surpass D2 in your opinion? Would you like a full rogue-lite mode in regular D2? Let us know down below.

While it seems as though a new live service title pops up and subsequently shuts down on a daily basis at the moment, one of the first major swings (and misses) came with EA and BioWare’s Anthem. Released back in 2019, the sci-fi RPG looter-shooter quickly failed – leading EA to scrap future content plans. Though the game has remained playable until now, EA has officially announced that Anthem is going offline in early 2026.

While Anthem has been pretty much dead ever since the game’s big 2.0 revamp was cancelled back in 2020, BioWare’s failed live-service shooter has remained playable, despite being an always-online experience.

Unfortunately, as with pretty much all games with similar requirements, Anthem was living on borrowed time. Taking to their website, the team at BioWare announced that: “After careful consideration, we will be sunsetting Anthem on January 12, 2026.”

Though I doubt many players were taking advantage, BioWare also confirmed that starting from now you won’t be able to purchase any additional in-game currency, though any currency you already have will remain usable.

Releasing an FAQ alongside the announcement, the team explained why no offline option is being given, writing “Anthem was designed to be an online-only title so once the servers go offline, the game will no longer be playable.”

Of course, we’ve seen plenty of online-only games release a patch ahead of its discontinuation to allow for users to play offline. In this instance though, it appears EA has no interest in spending the time/money to facilitate this.

As mentioned, in the 5 years since Anthem’s launch, there have been countless live-service failures – many which managed to outdo EA's efforts in the scope of its failings. Even so, the tragic tale of Anthem is one that will be remembered.

KitGuru says: What did you think of the game back in the day? Did it have potential? What’s the most memorable live-service failure to you? Let us know your thoughts down below.

Ahead of the official launch of Battlefield 6, EA has been continuously hosting a bunch of playtests, letting select players partake in ensuring DICE’s next FPS title is their best yet. It seems the publisher has extremely high hopes for the upcoming title, with insiders claiming that EA hopes to amass 100 million players with the next Battlefield.

In a piece released by Ars Technica discussing the ongoing development of the next Battlefield, multiple current and former developers at EA spoke to the publication – offering some interesting insights.

The full article can be found HERE, but by far the most surprising revelation was the fact that the higher-ups at EA have set the highly unrealistic target of 100 million players for Battlefield 6.

Given the fact that the most popular entry in the series (according to the developers) was Battlefield 1 with “maybe 30 million plus” players, 100 million seems completely unachievable.

It is worth noting however that while most Battlefield games have eventually found their way onto subscription services (boosting player numbers), Battlefield 6 is set to be the first entry to offer a truly free-to-play mode – two in fact – with both Battle Royale and Gauntlet modes said to be made available to all.

Even so, Battlefield 6 has a huge hill to climb. While there was once a time when the series could go toe-to-toe with Call of Duty, this hasn’t been the case for at least a decade now. As such, it will be highly interesting to see how players react to Battlefield 6 when it launches (likely) sometime this year.

KitGuru says: What do you think of EA’s expectations for Battlefield 6? Does this give you more or less hope in the project? Let us know down below.

With Amazon Prime Day almost upon us, there will no doubt be some great discounts and offers on PC tech. To showcase its Amazon Prime Day offers CPS PCCOOLER asked us to build a system with its latest C3 T700 dual chamber case, new F7 X120 fans and some other PCCOOLER goodies, all available on Prime Day. Inside the C3 T700 we’ve built AMD’s most powerful gaming PC with a Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU and Radeon RX 9070 XT Taichi GPU from ASRock!

Case – PCCOOLER C3 T700 Black – Pre-launch no link currently – Price TBA

• Compatible with back-connect motherboards and flagship graphics cards up to 400mm long.
• Extensive cooling support with up to ten 120mm fans, multiple 360mm radiator installation and CPU coolers up to 175mm supported.
• The panoramic 270-degree glass gives an unobstructed view inside the system with easy access via a clip-on quick-release side panel.

Specifications

• Case Type: ATX
• Dimensions: 420 x 285 x 400mm (LxWxH)
• Motherboard Support: ATX / M-ATX / ITX with BTF Compatible
• Expansion Slots: 7
• Storage Bays: 2 x 2.5”/1 x 3.5”
• Max GPU Length: ≤400mm
• Max CPU Cooler Height: ≤175mm
• Max PSU Size: ATX ≤180mm
• Pre-installed Fans: 4pcs
• Fan Support: Top:120mmx3 / 140mmx2, Rear: 120mmx1, Side: 120mmx3 / 140mmx2, Bottom: 120mmx3 / 140mmx2
• Radiator Support: Top: 240/280/360mm, Side: 240mm, Bottom: 240/280/360mm
• Dust Filters: Top / Bottom
• Font I/O: Type-C x1, USB 3.0 x1,USB 2.0 x1, MIC & AUDlO, Reset, Power Button

CPU Cooler – PCCOOLER DT360 ARGB Display – Available now from Amazon priced at $249.99 HERE.

• DT360 ARGB Display features a detachable magnetic 3.4-inch IPS LCD screen with 480 x 480 resolution and 60 Hz refresh rate that can display customisable themes and real-time system information.
• It's equipped with a copper micro-skived cold plate suitable for installation on all current AMD and Intel desktop CPUs with an all-ceramic bearing pump solution.
• The included F7 X120 fans feature a wireless modular connection for less cable clutter, with 28mm thickness for concentrated airflow and high static pressure and a 27mm thick radiator with fourteen water channels and a high-density fin array.

Specifications

• CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA115X/1200/1700/1851, AMD AM4/AM5
• Radiator Material: Aluminium
• Radiator Dimensions: L394xW120xH27mm
• Radiator Tube Length: 400mm
• CPU Block/Pump Dimensions: 82x80x62mm(LxWxH)
• Pump Speed: 2600RPM±10%
• Cold Plate Material: Micro-Skived Copper
• Pump Connector: 3-pin
• Pump LED: 3-pin 5v ARGB
• Fan Dimensions: 120x120x25mm
• Fan LED: ARGB
• Fan Speed (PWM): L:500-1500RPM±10%, M:500-2200RPM±10%, H:500-3000RPM±10%
• Fan Max Airflow: 83CFM
• Fan Max Air Pressure: 7mmH20
• Noise (dBA): 15-33.1dB(A)
• Fan Bearing: Ball Bearing
• Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM
• LCD Screen: 4” IPS 480×480 Resolution

Fans – PCCOOLER F7 X120 – Pre-launch no link currently – price expected to be around $50

• 28mm thick profile with a wide span variable section blade design for high airflow while minimising vortex turbulence and low operational noise.
• A three-step speed control switch mounted on the fan hub allows for three speed profiles with upper limits of 1500, 2200 and 3000 rpm.
• The wireless connection mechanism transmits signal and power through contact modules to eliminate cable mess for a clean aesthetic.

Specifications

• Connector Type: 4-Pin PWM
• Lighting Connector Type: 5V-3PIN
• Lighting Type: ARGB
• Fan Dimensions: 120x120x28mm
• Fan Speed: L:500-1500RPM±10%, M:500-2200RPM±10%, H:500-3000RPM±10%
• Max Air Pressure: L:1.7mmH2O, M:3.3mmH2O, H:5.7mmH2O
• Max Airflow: L:55CFM, M:65CFM, H:83CFM
• Fan Noise: L:15~22.3 dBA, M:15~28.9 dBA, H:15~33.1dBA
• Bearing Type: Ball Bearing
• Operating Voltage: 12VDC

Power Supply – PCCOOLER YS1200 – Available now from Amazon priced at $278.68 HERE.

• Fully modular, 80+ Gold and Cybenetics Gold rated with ATX 3.1 and PCIE 5.1 certification and a 12-year warranty.
• Features the latest PCI-E 5.1 12V-2×6 connector with standard 16AWG copper wire and highly durable copper alloy terminals providing 600W capability.
• Equipped with all Japanese Electrolytic capacitors, a 135mm FDB fan for low noise ouput and a hybrid cooling system with zero rpm mode.

Specifications

• Type: ATX 3.1
• Dimension: 160 x 150 x 86mm (L×W×H)
• Certification: 80PLUS GOLD / Cybenetics GOLD
• Power Output: 1200W
• Topology: Active PFC+Full Bridge SRCLLC+DC to DC
• Fan: FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing)
• Fan Size: 135mm
• Fan Work Mode: Hybrid Mode
• Operating Temperature: 0-50°C
• AC Input: 100-240VAC
• Modularity: Full Modular
• MTBF: 100,000 Hours
• Warranty: 12 Years

Build Specification:

• CPU – AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
• Motherboard – ASRock X870E Taichi
• Graphics Card – ASRock AMD Radeon RX 9070XT Taichi
• Memory – 64GB (2 x 32GB modules) G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6000
• Storage – 1TB Corsair MP600 Elite PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe M.2 SSD
• CPU Cooler – CPS PCCOOLER DT360 ARGB Display
• Power Supply – CPS PCCOOLER YS1200 80+ GOLD ATX 3.1/PCIE 5.1
• Case fans – CPS PCCOOLER F7 X120
• Chassis – CPS PCCOOLER C3 T700 Black
• Operating System – Windows 11

KitGuru says: If you are looking to upgrade your PC on Prime day, would any of these CPS PCCOOLER parts tempt you? 

It’s been a terrible week for Microsoft/Xbox employees, with almost 10,000 developers being let go in the company’s latest round of lay-offs. One of the victims in this latest ‘strategic’ move was Zenimax Online Studios – who had been working on a new MMO for 8 years now. According to a new report, the unannounced title, which was unceremoniously cancelled, had been “going well” prior to its axing.

In a report by IGN following the announcement of project Blackbird’s cancellation, a bunch of new details were revealed regarding Zenimax Online Studio’s unannounced MMO project – beyond the fact that it is no longer happening.

Though the game was in various stages of development for the past 8 years, sources claimed that the project was “going well, and the team was actively ramping up in the hope of moving into full production soon;” with Microsoft approving the progress.

In fact, in a revelation which makes this whole situation even more frustrating and ironic, the developers claimed that Xbox’s Matt Booty stated last year that the closures of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog Games were at the time made in service of “justifying increased headcount for other game studios that needed it, including ZeniMax Online Studios.”

With each passing day, it is becoming increasingly clear that what Xbox says it’s doing, and what the company is actually doing, are two entirely different things. I expect we’ll hear more regarding Zenimax and all others affected over the coming weeks.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this revelation? Does Microsoft have a strategy? Or are they simply laying down the train tracks as they approach them? Let us know your thoughts down below.

Well, I haven't reviewed laptops in a while now, especially the type of laptops that are on my desk right now. There's a company in the market called "X-Plus" that offers portable hardware in "very unique" form factors, whether it is handhelds, laptops, or mini-PCs. We have reviewed the company's GSeries1 gaming handheld in the past, which was basically an Intel N100 unit with a massive IPS screen slapped right onto it. This time, the company was kind enough to send their "2-in-1" laptop, called the Piccolo Series81, and upon the first-look, the first thought that came into my mind […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/here-a-look-at-one-of-the-world-smallest-laptop-the-2-in-1-piccolo-series81/

G.Skill announced a significant milestone in collaboration with the Asus ROG team. Together, they have successfully pushed the boundaries of the new DDR5 CAMM2 form factor, achieving Memtest-stable operation at DDR5-10000 memory speed with a 64GB capacity CAMM2 module.

This groundbreaking feat was accomplished on a modified, custom Asus ROG Maximus Z890 Hero CAMM2 motherboard, powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K desktop processor.

This achievement represents an early but important step in exploring and enabling extreme memory overclocking parameters on future hardware platforms. The demonstration showcases a 64GB CAMM2 module, overclocked to DDR5-10000 with CL52 timings, completing 100% Memtest coverage, proving it was completely stable running at this speed.

The CAMM2 (Compression Attached Memory Module) form factor is designed to potentially replace traditional SO-DIMM and even UDIMM modules in certain applications. It offers advantages in terms of physical footprint, signal integrity, and potentially higher speeds. Its flat, compression-mounted design allows for a thinner profile, which is particularly beneficial for compact computing devices and laptops.

KitGuru says: Do you think the CAMM2 memory modules will be the future memory form factor standard for all types of computers?

While DICE had previously attempted bringing Battle Royale to Battlefield with Battlefield V's Firestorm mode, it didn't quite take off. This time around, EA is adopting an approach that closely resembles Call of Duty Warzone, by spinning off the Battle Royale mode into a free-to-play game. 

Through datamining the early Battlefield 6 files available to testers via Battlefield Labs, Temporyal has been able to report a number of early details about the game. Recently, they uncovered evidence of a new Battle Royale mode for Battlefield 6, which includes a new map based on the US state of California, and a ‘destructive ring' that forces players to move and shrinks the bounds of the map as the match progresses.

According to Insider Gaming, the Battle Royale mode for Battlefield is going to be free-to-play. That would suggest that Battlefield is adopting an approach closer aligned with Call of Duty, with the Battle Royale experience being free and driving sales of the main game for its campaign mode and exclusive competitive multiplayer modes.

EA has not yet officially announced its plans for Battlefield 6 but an announcement is expected later this summer. The game is confirmed to be releasing before March 31st 2026.

KitGuru Says: Do you think the Battle Royale mode for the next Battlefield game will go free to play? 

Techland has announced to investors that it has cancelled two unannounced projects. The cancellations follow back-to-back years of financial losses for Techland, despite continued sales of Dying Light and Dying Light 2. 

Techland announced the cancellations in a press release. While they did not reveal specific details about the cancelled games, Insider Gaming reports that one of them was an Action-RPG with a fantasy setting, which began development in 2022. However, there are no details on what the second cancelled game was.

The report also claims that Techland is now working on a Call of Juarez sequel, the first game in the series since 2013, back when Ubisoft held the publishing rights to the series. Techland now owns the publishing rights to the IP, so the new game is expected to be self-published.

It is likely that Techland cancelled these projects due to a few factors. One being a lack of progress and another being financial losses in 2023 and 2024. Techland expects things to turn around with the upcoming release of Dying Light: The Beast, which aims to please fans who preferred the darker themes and gameplay style of the first game.

KitGuru Says: Are you planning on picking up Dying Light: The Beast in August? 

Intel's new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, is reportedly exploring ceasing marketing its 18A process technology to external foundry customers. Instead, it would focus on the 14A process node.

This potential shift, first reported by Reuters, represents a departure from the previous strategy of focusing on 18A, which saw substantial investment poured into development and promotion. Since taking the helm in March, Tan has actively sought to streamline operations and revitalise the company's financial performance. By June, he had apparently voiced concerns that the 18A process was struggling to attract the anticipated level of new external clients.

Industry analysts suggest these changes could amount to hundreds of millions in losses. Intel reported a net loss of $18.8 billion in 2024, marking its first unprofitable year since 1986, underscoring the urgency of Tan's efforts to find a more efficient path forward.

Intel plans to present these strategic options to its board later this month. However, due to the complexity and financial implications involved, a final decision is unlikely to be reached until autumn. Regardless of any changes to its broader strategy, Intel has affirmed it will honour existing commitments for 18A production. This includes manufacturing limited quantities of chips for confirmed clients like Amazon and Microsoft and producing its own “Panther Lake” laptop CPUs, which are slated for late 2025. Beyond the standard 18A, Intel is also developing two enhanced versions: 18A-P, set for release in 2026, and 18A-PT, expected in 2028.

Intel believes the 14A process will enable it to compete more effectively against TSMC and potentially attract major clients such as Apple and Nvidia, who currently rely on the Taiwanese company for chip fabrication.

KitGuru says: If this proves true, it would mark another major shift in strategy since Gelsinger left. 

Sony has confirmed that its PlayStation 5 Pro console will receive an AMD FSR4-like algorithm in 2026, replacing the current version of the PSSR upscaler.

As noted by Tom's Guide, the upgrade resulted from “Project Amethyst”, a collaborative effort between Sony and AMD that began in late 2023 and launched alongside the PS5 Pro. PlayStation's chief system architect, Mark Cerny, stated that the jointly developed algorithm will be implemented on the PS5 Pro, mirroring the PC counterpart released in March. This means PS5 Pro customers will receive the complete feature set of FSR 4 without any restrictions.

AMD brought Sony into its quality assurance processes and helped establish a dedicated team focused on upscaling performance. Sony plans to deliver the FSR 4 upgrade as a free system update to all PS5 Pro owners in 2026.

Furthermore, AMD will incorporate the lessons learnt from Project Amethyst into its next RDNA 5/UDNA graphics architecture, which is expected to power future GPUs and potentially next-generation consoles like the PlayStation 6 and the next Xbox. The results from this collaboration are not restricted, allowing third-party developers and hardware partners to benefit from the advancements. For current PS5 Pro owners, the upcoming patch is expected to provide a notable boost in visual quality without compromising performance. Upscaling optimisations for future RDNA 5/UDNA GPUs will also be refined based on the work done for the console.

KitGuru says: Do you have a PS5 Pro? Are you glad the PSSR upscaler is getting a significant upgrade next year?

The Seagate Ultra Compact SSD is IP54 rated and comes with a 3-year limited warranty, Rescue Data Recovery Services and some free software trials you can check out if you desire.  It…

Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN offer some advice on what the best handheld gaming PCs to take with you on your vacation, or to use on your couch if you have no plans…

Companies never learn; today Cisco proves that fact once again with a fix for a security flaw which hasn't been exploited yet but is begging to be.  Cisco Unified Communications Manager, which…

Helldivers 2 launched last year as a PlayStation console exclusive, even the PC version of the game is published by PlayStation. With that in mind, it was assumed that the game would never come to Xbox, but as it turns out, it will be, and it will be releasing very soon.

Helldivers 2 for Xbox Series X/S consoles will be available starting on August 26th. Funnily enough, around that same time, Gears of War will be releasing on PlayStation for the first time, so this is almost like a rare trade of exclusives.

Helldivers 2 game director, Mikael Eriksson, expressed excitement to recruit more Helldivers with this release, saying: “We know gamers have been asking for this for some time and we are so excited to bring more Helldivers into our game. We have so much more in store for the future months and years – and the more players we have the more stories we can tell! The fight for Super Earth has only just begun.”

Helldivers 2 and Helldivers 2: Super Citizen Edition will both be available on Xbox Series X/S starting on the 26th of August. The game features crossplay for all platforms, so you'll be able to team up with friends on Xbox, PlayStation and PC.

KitGuru Says: This certainly came as a surprise but more games going multiplatform is always welcome. It would be interesting to see this game on Switch 2 as well, assuming Nintendo's latest console has the power needed to run it. 

The first GeForce Now library update of the month has arrived. There are just a handful of games joining GeForce Now today, but 20 more games will be joining the library over the course of July, like the day-one release of Killing Floor 3, Dreadzone and more. 

This month will see bring 20 more titles to GeForce Now, 12 of which are brand new, day-one releases. That list includes HunterxHunter NenxImpact, Killing Floor 3, Dreadzone, RoboCop: Rogue City Unfinished Business, Wildgate and more. This month will also see the Xbox app version of The Ascent joining GeForce Now, as the game will be joining PC Game Passs on the 8th of July.

Here are the titles joining GeForce Now today:

• Little Nightmares II (New release on Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, July 1)
• Figment (New release on Epic Games Store, Free July 3)
• Clicker Heroes (Steam)
• Fabledom (Steam)
• Rogue: Genesia (Steam)
• Schedule I (Steam)

This is also the last week that you can take advantage of the GeForce Now summer sale, where 6-month Premium tier memberships are half price.

KitGuru Says: Are you looking forward to any of this month's new games? 

After weeks of speculation, Microsoft began a new round of mass layoffs yesterday, with many teams across Xbox studios being impacted. We already learned that Rare had been forced to cut staff and cancel Everwild, now, Rare has also lost one of its longest-tenured creative leaders. 

Gregg Mayles, a game director who has worked at Rare for more than 35 years, has left the studio following the cancellation of Everwild, as reported by VGC. This week as part of a mass layoff effort at Microsoft, Rare was forced to let go of an undisclosed number of employees, and their long in-development adventure game, Everwild, had been cancelled.

Previously, Mayles had worked on Nintendo classics like Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country, along with many other Rare classics. In more recent years he had worked on Sea of Thieves and Everwild.

Rare has not been the only studio impacted by Microsoft's layoff spree. A Zenimax Online studio in Europe was also shut down and a new MMO, codenamed Project Blackbird, was cancelled. The studio behind Forza Motorsport, Turn 10, had to let go around half of its team. The Initiative, the studio behind the Perfect Dark reboot, was closed down and Perfect Dark was cancelled.

KitGuru Says: We thought last year was rough with the closure of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks but 2025 has been an even bigger bloodbath. 

The scope of the layoffs at Xbox studios continues to astound. Following the closure of The Initiative and several game cancellations, it has come to light that Turn 10 has been forced to fire half of its staff. 

Turn 10 is the studio behind the Forza Motorsport games. Despite these games often being highly reviewed and pillars of the Xbox library, Turn 10 was one of the studios hit the hardest by this week's layoffs.

According to Jason Schreier, around half of the Turn 10 team has been let go as part of this week's layoffs. Understandably, those left behind aren't too pleased about the situation, with one source saying it is “unclear where things go from here”, especially in regards to an unannounced game in development.

The Forza Horizon team at Playground Games was not affected.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It is unclear how many developers Turn 10 had to begin with, but losing half of a workforce is going to lead to delays and heavily impact current plans for projects. 

As part of Microsoft's mass lay-off announcements yesterday, the Xbox team made another shocking decision. First-party studio, The Initiative, is closing immediately and the Perfect Dark reboot has been cancelled.

The Initiative was announced by Microsoft back in 2019. The studio was billed as Microsoft's ‘AAAA' studio, that's right, quadruple A. Things started off promisingly with the hiring of veteran developers from studios like Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, Rockstar and more. Somewhere along the way though, plans changed, and The Initiative was shrunk into a smaller project-management team and Crystal Dynamics was brought in to do the bulk of the development work.

Now, two years on from the announcement of that partnership with Crystal Dynamics, Perfect Dark has been cancelled. The move also comes just one year after we got out first proper trailer for the game. As it turns out, this was essentially a fake trailer, as the game was not taking shape behind the scenes.

Speaking on the closure of The Initiative and cancellation of Perfect Dark, Xbox Studios head, Matt Booty, said:

“These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape. We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.”

It is unclear if Microsoft will attempt another revival of Perfect Dark. They have plenty of studios under them that could take the project on, including the original creator of the franchise, Rare Studios, which was also impacted by yesterday's layoffs.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Over the past two console generations, there have been two Xbox exclusives I've been primarily interested in. For Xbox One, it was Scalebound, and we all know how that turned out. Now, that same thing has happened with Perfect Dark. With Perfect Dark and Deus Ex both being on ice now, fans of spy-themed immersive sims don't have much to look forward to in the near future.

The KitGuru Reader Awards return for 2025. This is where we ask you to tell us which brands you think are doing the best job in the tech space and as a thank you for entering, we are also running a giveaway, with the winner getting their choice of an RTX 5070 Ti or an RX 9070 XT graphics card! 

Voting is now open for the KitGuru Reader Awards 2025, and it takes just a few minutes to have your say.

Whether you're loyal to a specific chassis manufacturer, think a certain monitor brand deserves more love or have been blown away by your latest motherboard purchase, now is the time to make your opinion count.

Why vote?

Not only will your votes shape the KitGuru Reader Awards, but they’ll also feed directly into the European Hardware Association Reader Awards, which will be revealed in Cologne on Monday 19th August – the evening before Gamescom opens. With nine leading tech publications involved across Europe, this is your chance to help decide the biggest pan-European technology community awards of the year.

What’s up for grabs?

To thank you for taking part, we’re giving one lucky voter the chance to win a high-end graphics card worth £850. You’ll be able to choose your prize – for example, between a brand-new RTX 5070 Ti or a Radeon RX 9070 XT – depending on your platform preference.

Entering the draw is easy and you can choose to answer/skip as many categories as you like. If you want a chance to win – please fill in the email box at the end of the survey. Everyone who enters has an equal chance.

Important dates:

• Voting opens: Now

• Voting closes: Midnight, Saturday 20th July

• Prize winner announced: Tuesday 23rd July

• KitGuru Award Results published: Monday 12th August

• EHA Reader Awards announced live in Cologne: Monday 19th August

How to vote

Click to go to our Reader Awards 2025 voting form. Remember: You don’t need to vote in every category – so just skip any that don’t apply to you.

KitGuru Says: Whether you're a regular commenter or a quiet observer, this is your moment to shape the narrative. Tell us which brands have earned your trust and admiration in 2025 — and maybe win yourself a serious GPU upgrade while you're at it. Good luck – and thank you for being part of the KitGuru community over the last 16 years!