Tomb Raider: Catalyst Actor Expresses Fear of Losing Lara After Microsoft’s Sudden Cancellation of Perfect Dark Reboot

Alix Wilton Regan, the voice behind Perfect Dark, expressed her shock over the game’s cancellation, especially considering how much had already been recorded. Fortunately, the upcoming titles Tomb Raider: Catalyst and Legacy of Atlantis provide some consolation.

Earlier this year, Microsoft’s extensive layoffs led to the cancellation of several projects across Xbox, including Rare’s Everwild and an unannounced MMO from Zenimax Online Studios, as well as a third-party title from Romero Games that lost its funding. However, the most notable casualty was the Perfect Dark reboot. This project had made a significant impact during its reveal at the Xbox Game Showcase the previous year and was being developed by The Initiative, a team specifically assembled for this purpose. The studio was closed along with the cancellation, and co-developer Crystal Dynamics also faced layoffs.

In a conversation, Wilton Regan shared her feelings: “I was as shocked, surprised, and devastated as everyone else was when the funding was pulled, and the studio was closed,” adding, “I was absolutely blindsided when the project was defunded.” She noted that by the time of cancellation, the game had already achieved several milestones that had pleased the client.

“There was an ecosystem of creativity and collaboration that was in place that we lost overnight. It was really difficult, really difficult for everybody,” she explained. Despite efforts to revive the project, it ultimately did not materialize.

On a brighter note, Wilton Regan continues her work with Crystal Dynamics, having been announced as the new voice of Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider projects. “The saving grace for me when Perfect Dark fell apart was that I’d already been shooting Lara for about a year as well,” she said, adding, “I just felt so relieved that I still had Lara, but I also felt really frightened about losing Lara. I’m still frightened of losing Lara.”

Tomb Raider: Catalyst is set to be Crystal Dynamics’ largest Lara Croft game to date, and players can dive right in without needing any prior knowledge.