Why Xbox Is Working With Crystal Dynamics On The Perfect Dark Reboot

Microsoft's The Initiative studio is working with Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics on a new Perfect Dark game, and now a top Xbox boss has commented on the unusual partnership. Speaking to Kinda Funny, Xbox Studios boss Matt Booty acknowledged that this is not a "standard situation" because Crystal Dynamics is not usually known to be a co-development studio (and it's owned by Square Enix), but Microsoft found a way to make it work.

This happened thanks to personal relationships, and specifically Darrell Gallagher, the former Crystal Dynamics boss who now runs The Initiative. Gallagher's connections helped drive the deal, but it's also about how Crystal Dynamics is well-suited to help The Initiative on a project of a similar type to the new Perfect Dark.

Booty said Crystal Dynamics has a "great pedigree, good success, [and] just a lot of skill," and thanks to Gallagher's connections, the two sides came to an agreement.

"They've got a team with experience building the kind of thing that we're building, who's worked with some of the people that's now available. It was not a standard situation, because they are not usually billing themselves as a co-development studio like many places are, but we found a way to make it work," Booty said. "And I think it was through some of the personal connections we've got. So I'm excited about it in terms of what it adds on to the team that we've already got there at The Initiative. It's too precious of a resource in the industry right now to not jump on that."

The Perfect Dark reboot is The Initiative's first game. It was announced last year at The Game Awards and is confirmed for release on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Not much else is known about the game yet, though. The series hasn't seen a proper new entry since 2005's Perfect Dark Zero.