Perfect Dark is a true classic through and through, no questions asked. Coming off the success of GoldenEye 007, Rare’s first-person shooter released in 2000 is often remembered as one of N64’s very best. However, there hasn’t been a Perfect Dark game since 2005’s Perfect Dark Zero on the 360 and fans have been yearning for more. If rumors are to be believed, then a series revival is in order.
Spotted by journalist Jeff Grubb, Xbox’s Initiative studio is rumored to be working on a new game in the Perfect Dark series. However, the game is rumored to be a third-person shooter this time around. Adding more substance to the rumor, earlier this year, a former Initiative designer’s CV was seen on LinkedIn to credit a game with “weapons, gadgets, and a camera surveillance system.”
(Jeff Grubb)The Initiative is making Perfect Dark, and it's going to be in 3rd person. https://t.co/hUbxmL7dKb pic.twitter.com/LtkfVgxGpO
— ResetEra NT (@ResetEraNT) August 26, 2020
Also, earlier this June, registrations of the Twitter accounts for the games Perfect Dark and Fable popped up but Microsoft quickly dismissed this as a sign of IP revivals by saying “sorry to get your hopes up. These accounts have been inactive for years, it’s standard practice to secure social handles for our IP.” That didn’t stop them from revealing a new Fable game during their games showcase, Hopefull, we can expect the same for Perfect Dark.
Phil Spencer said during E3 2018 that he and studio head Darrell Gallagher “were talking about some things in our past that might be interesting… nothing to announce yet, but just some things that he might want to go work on.”
Spencer also said Initiative were “challenging themselves to do new things (and old things) in new ways.”
The Initiative is Microsoft’s Santa Monica-based studio comprised of veterans who worked in games such as Tomb Raider, God of War, and the Uncharted series. Since the release of Microsoft’s next-gen console is on the way, we may hope to see an announcement soon enough.