New Perfect Dark Revealed From Xbox's The Initiative Studio

One of Microsoft's newest studios, The Initiative, debuted its new Perfect Dark game at The Game Awards 2020. Teased as a mix of old and new (the original Perfect Dark was developed by Rare back in 2000), Perfect Dark is a first-person, stealth-driven shooter set in a futuristic setting, starring Agent Dark. It's coming to Xbox and PC. Check out the trailer below.

Judging from the trailer, it appears that series protagonist Joanna Dark--last seen in Xbox 360 launch title Perfect Dark Zero--will be returning. Perfect Dark was, back in 2000, one of the Nintendo 64's most beloved and acclaimed games, offering bot-enabled multiplayer, a deep campaign, and a huge selection of interesting weapons. It also had a plot that veered heavily into aliens towards the end, so it'll be interesting to see if this game has a sci-fi bent to it, too.

Like the original, this new version will also feature spy work and espionage. Perfect Dark (2000) was developed by the team behind GoldenEye 007.

Fans of the original will recognize the Datadyne logo that pops up towards the trailer's end, and Joanna's silenced pistol might look familiar, too.

Founded in 2018, The Initiative is led by quite the veteran-filled team. Members of the studio include God of War lead producer Brian Westergaard, 12-year Crystal Dynamics veteran Dan Neuburger, 16-year Microsoft veteran Blake Fischer, former Respawn recruiter Annie Lohr, former Crystal Dynamics recruiter Lindsey McQueeney, and Red Redemption 2 writer and designer Christian Cantamessa. The team is led by former Square Enix and Activision boss Darryl Gallagher.

There are still plenty of questions we have about Perfect Dark, including whether it'll be an FPS game, and whether it'll feature extensive multiplayer options, which have been a major part of the series in the past. Hopefully we'll learn more about this major Xbox exclusive in 2021.