Unseen News

Perfect Dark – Reboot [Xbox Series X/S & PC] Cancelled

After years of dormancy, Perfect Dark was set to make a return, boasting stunning visuals, refined mechanics, and a fully re-imagined reboot. Unlike previous entries in the franchise, this revival wasn’t being helmed by Rare. Instead, a new studio called The Initiative was steering the wheel. The game was officially announced in 2020, and Perfect Dark fans couldn’t wait to see Joanna Dark return after years in the shadows.

Occasionally, snippets of gameplay would surface online here and there, offering brief glimpses into the project’s progress. But for the most part, Microsoft Game Studios and The Initiative never announced a concrete release date

That is, until July 2nd, 2025 — when Microsoft confirmed the cancellation of the Perfect Dark reboot and the closure of The Initiative. According to Microsoft, the cancellation was the result of a broader strategic shift and cost-cutting measures within the company. What remains now are a handful of gameplay clips and concept images of what could have been.

Videos:

Images:

  

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams [PS2] – Beta

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams is the fourth mainline instalment in the Onimusha franchise, developed and published by Capcom. This instalment revamped the combat of the previous trilogy, introduced a new main character, a new RPG system, and a different direction altogether. However, before being released to the world, the game underwent several changes. One of which I think should have remained.

Images:

Differences:

  • Different stance when absorbing souls
  • Soki can charge up his sword to execute a powerful attack (just like in the Onimusha trilogy)
  • Visible HP bar on top for your companion
  • Requiem (Sword of Purification) once had a separate magic bar
  • Different lock-on stance
  • An online co-op feature was once planned, but wasn’t really implemented

Videos:

Differences:

  • Unused Requiem attack move
  • Different Ohatsu and Tenkai fascial
  • Different transformation (bright green flames)
  • Cutscenes were originally all in CGI
  • Ban Danemon soldiers are regular Genmas
  • The Issen attack lacks special effects (usually, the screen blurs for a few seconds, and your surroundings turn dark)
  • Faster Issen attacks
  • Marcellus appears as a boss briefly in the promo trailer
  • Unused battle stage  (It is possible that it was part of the Test of Valour missions, or a boss)
  • Slightly different save portal (Likely uses one from Onimusha 3: Demon’s Siege)
  • Soki is able to charge his weapon (similar to Onimusha 3)

Other Cut Content discovered by Murad58

  

Rise of the Kasai [PS2] – Beta

Rise of the Kasai is the sequel to the Mark of Kri originally developed by San Diego Studio and published by Sony in 2002. The sequel kept the fundamentals of the original and introduced a cast of new characters, villains and new goons for you to hack and slash through. Before Rise of the Kasai released in the market, there were a few beta changes that you can observe below. Oh, and an online Co-Op system was implemented early in the development of the game, but Sony cut that feature from the final release.

Videos:

Beta changes:

  • Different Tati voice
  • Different Bottle Rocket Entertainment intro (no animation with the brush)
  • Lack of Tati’s battle cry when picking healing items
  • Light blood splatter for enemies
  • Loud sneezing (enemies)
  • The Ngari level uses the Mt Bausuku theme

Images:

 

Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening [PS2] — Beta

By now, everyone has already played or heard of Devil May Cry 3. It’s a hack and slash video game and part of the Devil May Cry series that single-handedly revolutionised the genre as we know it today. However, before Devil May Cry 3 hit store shelves, it went through several changes that we can observe in this article.

Originally, when DMC 3 was unveiled at E3 2004, the red orbs, HP, Boss, and Devil Trigger HUD were slightly different. Not only this, but some dodge movements from Devil May Cry 2 were cut from the final release. Saying all this via text won’t cut it, so check the images and videos below.

Images (Pre E3 2004):

Beta changes:

  • Different Red Orbs
  • Different HP/Devil Trigger HUD
  • Slightly different graphics
  • Slightly different Beowulf and Cerberus design (Beowulf is missing his eye)
  • Different demons in the sixth picture (count from left to right)
  • Wild Stomp is not tied to Gunslinger Style
  • Using Sword Pierce with Rebellion results in Dante using Beowulf’s moves instead of the final version’s kick.
  • Different taunt dialogue
  • Unused areas
  • Different entrance to Temen-ni-gru’s main hall
  • Different mission select screen

Videos:

Beta Changes: (observed by HyperSonicXtreme on YouTube)

  • At 00:05 – No red trench coat hanging next to the door. Different door and no poster of the sexy lady on the other side of the door
  • At 0:22 – The pupils in his eyes are only looking in one direction while talking on the phone, while in the final, he’s moving them a bit more.
  • 1:36 – The tip of the pizza is bitten off in the final when he picks it up.
  • 1:01 – The Diamond Window panes on the door changed.
  • 1:10 – The wall had a lot of stuff on it in the final version, no ceiling light, no posters, no rails, etc.
  • 1:27 – Those different swords hanging on the wall are removed in the final.
  • 1:31 – Different door and a picture frame not in the final. Teen Dante’s facial expressions look different from the final.
  • 2:36 – Especially at 1:36 when he’s about to eat the pizza. Just look at those eyelids wide open and compare them to the final. He also slightly sticks his tongue out in the final when he’s about to eat it. Here, it’s just a wide-open mouth. The Pizza Box. (Pizza 1 box with different font changed to just Pizza) Changed the phone and chair design. The pool table looks different. (They changed it from green to red.)
  • Pause at 2:51. When Teen Dante puts the gun in the demon’s mouth, it’s a different demon design. No glowing red eyes, brown cloth, plus the fingers holding the gun look weird. In the late 2004 trial version (When getting the Japanese Biohazard Outbreak File #2 game), they had glowing white eyes with a cracked vertical face. Just watch Devil May Cry HD Collection: DMC 3: Special Edition First 11 Minutes HD – YouTube.
  • Pause at 6:16 for the comparison. The 3-headed Demon Dog Cerberus boss face, eyes and teeth look different.

My observation:

  • At 9:12 – It’s a completely different dodge. It likely uses the same move from Devil May Cry 2.
  • Different enemy design
  • Different Style meter
  • Different coat physics
  • Different Sword Pierce animation
  • Different Dante’s face and animation at 1:37
  • The enemies that attack Dante in the beginning are different
  • Drive moveset lacks the red charge.
  • At 7:45 – Different environment
  • At 7:59 – Different environment
  • At 8:40 – Attacking Hell Wrath with Rebellion is possible
  • At 8:58 – Different screen
 

Internal Affairs [PC/PS2] — Cancelled

Internal Affairs was an action-driving-based game in development by Attention to Detail in 2000. Internal Affairs was designed as a 12-mission character-based driving and action game, and would have been extended with downloadable monthly episodes via broadband. Each episode would reveal a new area of Phoenix City Island and a new part of the plot, which initially concerned tracking down a group of terrorists.

Internal Affairs was self-funded entirely by the folks at Attention to Detail. While working on the game, they had a tight timeframe to quickly find a publisher to secure the game’s future. Unfortunately, two attempts to secure a publisher fell through, and Internal Affairs continued to rely on self-funding until it was deemed not commercially viable to proceed with the project. In the end, the game was cancelled. Chris Gibbs, who was involved with Internal Affairs, shared the following:

“We had two successive publishing opportunities,” recalls Chris Gibbs, ATD’s managing director. “One fell through due to the publisher folding, the next when the subsequent publisher was acquired.”

Without publisher support and with the broadband part of the game in doubt due to the slow penetration of services, ATD couldn’t wait any longer to secure a third deal, and took a paying commission instead.

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