In less than a year, there are already two design directors at The Initiative, the studio currently developing the new Perfect Dark for Xbox, who left office and announced it publicly. Chris O'Neill therefore declares that he is leaving after less than a month in this position.
Drew Murray had already left this same position last February to return to Insomniac Games, for which he had already worked for more than 10 years.
Bad news for Perfect Dark?
Announced during the Game Awards 2020, the return of Perfect Dark had thrilled fans of the license (first launched on Nintendo 64, then relaunched on Xbox), with the addition of a promise from the Microsoft gaming firm to make it an "AAAA" game on which The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics (Tomb Raider, Marvel's Avengers) are working together. But, since this announcement, very little news has reached us, except departures. It is in any case enough to doubt the smooth running of the development.
Thus, after Drew Murray, it is the turn of Chris O'Neill to leave the position of design director, less than a month after taking office. What does not help matters and continues to raise doubts are the words used by the two men in their departure note, similar: “I bid you a bittersweet goodbye. »
O'Neill spent over 9 years prior to that at Santa Monica Studio working on the God of War franchise, with a year and a half stint at Kojima Production as a senior game designer on Metal Gear Solid V. Like his former colleague, will he return to his former studio belonging to Sony Interactive Entertainment?
