The Initiative
In September 2023, I joined The Initiative - a Santa Monica–based Xbox Game Studio - as a Producer III supporting development of the reboot of ‘Perfect Dark’. My role centered on supporting various feature teams including “Weapons & Gadgets”, “Core Tech”, and “Tech Art“, driving cross-functional alignment, supporting gameplay feature development, and ensuring that multidisciplinary teams across design, engineering, animation, art, QA, and other disciplines were positioned to deliver high-quality work on schedule.
As a Producer III, I operated within The Initiative’s highly collaborative co-development model, partnering closely with internal leadership and external development teams like Crystal Dynamics and The Coalition to maintain clarity across dependencies, surface risks early, and keep feature pods unblocked. My day-to-day responsibilities included coordinating sprint and milestone rituals, managing cross‑team communication channels, supporting feature planning and scoping efforts, and helping teams navigate shifting requirements as the project evolved. I also contributed to production frameworks and workflows that improved visibility, reduced friction, and strengthened alignment across distributed teams.
Working on ‘Perfect Dark’ was a uniquely challenging and rewarding experience. The project’s ambition, technical complexity, and cross‑studio structure required a high degree of adaptability, proactive communication, and systems-level thinking - skills that align directly with my strengths as a Senior Producer and Technical Program Manager. It also deepened my experience operating within large AAA organizations, where clarity, trust, and disciplined execution are essential to maintaining momentum across multiple feature areas.
My work as a Producer on ‘Perfect Dark‘ was recognized by project leadership for setting a new gold standard for production as a practice across the broader team, and my contract was extended beyond its original term where I continued to support the team through late September 2024 before choosing to pursue new opportunities. Since then, Microsoft publicly confirmed in June 2025 that ‘Perfect Dark’ had been canceled as part of broader organizational restructuring and studio closures across the Xbox division. While the game will not ultimately reach players, I remain extremely proud of the work I contributed and the work of the teams I supported during my time on the project. The experience strengthened my production leadership abailities, expanded my ability to drive alignment across complex development environments, and reinforced my commitment to building healthy, empowered teams capable of delivering exceptional player experiences.
Portfolio Links:
*Used with permission from Microsoft.
*Used with permission from Microsoft.
*Used with permission from Microsoft.
*Used with permission from Microsoft.
*Used with permission from Microsoft.
*Used with permission from Microsoft.