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Perfect Dark (upcoming video game)

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Perfect Dark
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Xbox Game Studios
Director(s)Brian Horton
SeriesPerfect Dark
EngineUnreal Engine 5[1]
Platform(s)
Genre(s)Action-adventure, first-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Perfect Dark is an upcoming action-adventure first-person shooter video game developed by The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics and published by Xbox Game Studios. Announced at The Game Awards in 2020, it is a reboot of the Perfect Dark series. It is set to be released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

Perfect Dark aims to revitalize the franchise with modern gameplay mechanics and a new narrative. Set in a near-future world grappling with environmental collapse, players will step into the role of agent Joanna Dark, navigating a world where mega-corporations conceal dangerous secrets amidst efforts to restore ecological balance. The game features stealth and high-tech gadgetry, set against the backdrop of a restored Cairo.

Perfect Dark marks the first project by The Initiative, an Xbox studio founded in 2018 and led by Darrell Gallagher, who previously led Crystal Dynamics and worked on the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot. Gallagher thought about a number of Microsoft-provided options before deciding to revive Perfect Dark. Significant personnel turnover and creative differences were among the problems experienced during the game production process, which was originally scheduled to utilize Unreal Engine 4. The Initiative joined forces with Crystal Dynamics in 2021 to support development, moving to Unreal Engine 5 to increase efficiency. The Coalition reportingly supports both studios with Unreal Engine expertise.

Gameplay

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The player is engaging in combat.

Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter video game, drawing inspiration from immersive sims and stealth games. Players have the option to engage in direct combat with enemies or employ stealth tactics, utilizing advanced gadgets for distraction and infiltration. The game features a parkour system, enabling the protagonist, Joanna, to navigate the environment by clambering down pipes and running along walls.[2][3] Players can eliminate or incapacitate enemies using firearms and melee combat, with Joanna smoothly sliding and running through combat scenarios. The game allows for environmental interaction, such as shooting a fire extinguisher to create a temporary cover cloud.[4]

Stealth is a significant component of the gameplay. Players can sneak past adversaries or use high-tech gadgets to deceive them. Joanna's HUD provides capabilities such as seeing enemies through walls and scanning them for details. Additionally, her voice analysis tool can mimic an enemy's voice to open voice-activated locks or distract foes with false communications.[5] Perfect Dark is mission-based rather than open-world. The game's parkour mechanics enable Joanna to perform actions like wall running, scaling buildings, and sliding along scaffolding to access otherwise unreachable locations.[3][6]

Premise

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Perfect Dark is set in a near-future world experiencing environmental collapse, with mega-corporations attempting to address the crisis while concealing their own secrets. Players assume the role of agent Joanna Dark, a skilled operative seeking to uncover the truth behind these events. According to an article on Xbox Wire, the game's setting involves significant ecological disasters, collectively referred to as "The Cascade," causing widespread devastation on Earth. Core Mantis, a mega-corporation, creates The GEN Network and deploys it in Cairo, Egypt, successfully restoring the region's ecosystem and making it habitable once again. Following this success, other major companies also get involved, but hidden agendas are at play. This reimagined futuristic version of Cairo serves as the main setting for the game.[3]

The protagonist, Joanna Dark, is a special operative working for the megacorporation dataDyne. The character is portrayed through performance capture by actress Alix Wilton Regan, with her facial likeness based on model Elissa Bibaud.[7] Joanna is proficient in firearms, advanced gadgets, stealth, and close-quarters combat. Her mission involves investigating and capturing Daniel Carrington, the world's most wanted criminal, who is hiding in the restored city of Cairo with a radioactive device. Despite her expertise, Joanna is not infallible, and part of the game's narrative focuses on her growth and learning from her mistakes, reflecting the aspirational nature of the game's title.[8][3]

Development

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Perfect Dark is the first project by The Initiative, a Microsoft studio founded in 2018 and headed by Darrell Gallagher.[9] Gallagher, who had previously worked on the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot, chose to work on a Perfect Dark reboot after Microsoft presented him with a few opportunities.[10] Plans for the game had already been discussed before Gallagher joined The Initiative,[11] with Xbox head Phil Spencer stating that the game is seen as an opportunity for protagonist Joanna Dark to diversify the Xbox family.[10] According to a source, the game will run on Unreal Engine 4 and feature "various weapons, gadgets, and a camera surveillance system".[12] Design director Drew Murray revealed that the game is being envisioned as a spy shooter, and that the studio wants the player character's physicality to play a bigger role than in traditional first-person shooters.[13] In February 2021, Murray left The Initiative to rejoin Insomniac Games.[14] Shortly afterwards, God of War producer Rhonda Cox joined the company as senior producer for the game.[15]

In September 2021, The Initiative announced they would be partnering with Crystal Dynamics on the game's development.[16] Daniel Neuburger, who had previously directed several Tomb Raider games at Crystal Dynamics, was the game director,[17] until he left The Initiative in February 2022.[18] In the previous 12 months, a substantial number of developers had also left the company, citing a lack of creative autonomy and slow development progress as the reason for their departures.[19] In May 2022, after Embracer Group announced that they had entered an agreement with Square Enix to acquire Crystal Dynamics, The Initiative confirmed that they would still continue to co-develop the game with the studio.[20] In November 2022, Xbox Studios boss Matt Booty revealed that, after the departure of several senior staff members at The Initiative, the Perfect Dark team has been slowly rebuilding while dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and starting up a new studio.[21]

By June 2023, Perfect Dark was still in pre-production and roughly two to three years away from release. It was also revealed that Certain Affinity was involved in its development before The Initiative announced that they would co-develop the game with Crystal Dynamics. Due to multiple factors, including poor management and creative differences between both studios, progress on the game stalled. In 2022, after The Initiative partnered with Crystal Dynamics, development restarted under Unreal Engine 5 and was a bit more productive. There are plans for the game to follow an episodic format, but it could still change before release.[22] It was also reported that The Coalition has been supporting both studios with their Unreal Engine expertise.[23] In October 2024, it was reported that former Insomniac Games developer Brian Horton had left the studio, where he was acting as creative director on Marvel's Wolverine, to join The Initiative as Perfect Dark's new creative director over the summer.[24]

Marketing and release

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Although work on a Perfect Dark revival was rumored in early 2018,[25] Perfect Dark was officially announced at The Game Awards 2020 with a teaser trailer,[7] after development on the game had been hinted by some sources earlier that year.[12] The game will also be available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.[26] The Initiative showcased the first gameplay trailer for Perfect Dark at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9, 2024.[23]

Notes

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  1. ^ Additional work by The Coalition.

References

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  1. ^ Linneman, John (June 19, 2024). "What have we learned from Perfect Dark's gameplay reveal trailer?". Eurogamer.net.
  2. ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 11, 2024). "Perfect Dark - Everything We Know". GameSpot. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Tolbert, Samuel (June 15, 2024). "Perfect Dark FAQ: Xbox Game Pass, story, gameplay, and everything you need to know". Windows Central. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  4. ^ Valentine, Rebekah; Stedman, Alex (June 9, 2024). "Xbox Finally Shows Off its Perfect Dark Reboot - Xbox Games Showcase 2024". IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Campbell, Evan (June 12, 2024). "Iconic Perfect Dark Dev Says He 'Would've Loved' To Work On The Reboot". GameSpot. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  6. ^ Lennox, Jesse (June 12, 2024). "Perfect Dark: release date window, trailers, gameplay, and more". Digital Trends. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Goslin, Austen (December 11, 2020). "A new Perfect Dark game is on the way from The Initiative". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Makuch, Eddie (June 9, 2024). "Perfect Dark Gets First Gameplay Trailer". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  9. ^ Grant, Christopher (June 10, 2018). "Microsoft has five (!) new internal studios". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Dane, Patrick (June 30, 2021). "Perfect Dark allows Xbox to focus on 'modern opportunities' says Phil Spencer". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  11. ^ Stanton, Rich (July 5, 2021). "Phil Spencer admits Xbox needed the Perfect Dark reboot to make its firstparty lineup less male". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Maher, Cian (April 27, 2020). "It sure sounds like The Initiative is working on a new Perfect Dark". VG247. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  13. ^ Calvin, Alex (December 11, 2020). "The Initiative confident Perfect Dark won't be like other FPS". VG247. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  14. ^ Oloman, Jordan (February 23, 2021). "Perfect Dark Design Director Leaves The Initiative, Rejoins Insomniac Games". IGN. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Apsey, Joe (March 11, 2021). "God Of War Producer Jumps Over To The Initiative To Work On Perfect Dark". Psu.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  16. ^ Grubb, Jeff (September 29, 2021). "Why The Initiative hired Crystal Dynamics to help with Perfect Dark". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  17. ^ Ivan, Tom (October 20, 2021). "Xbox says it 'jumped at the chance' to work with Crystal Dynamics on Perfect Dark". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  18. ^ Robinson, Andy (March 12, 2022). "It looks like Perfect Dark has lost its game director". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  19. ^ Robinson, Andy (March 15, 2022). "Insiders describe 'fast and furious' exits from Xbox's Perfect Dark studio". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  20. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (May 2, 2022). "Crystal Dynamics Will Continue to Co-Develop Perfect Dark With The Initiative Following Embracer Deal". IGN. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  21. ^ Bonthuys, Darryn (November 7, 2022). "Perfect Dark Reboot: Xbox Boss Gives A New Update". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  22. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (June 27, 2023). "Xbox's Perfect Dark Reboot Is Still Years Away". IGN. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Tolbert, Samuel (June 9, 2024). "Perfect Dark finally emerged with gameplay during the Xbox Games Showcase 2024". Windows Central. Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  24. ^ Totilo, Stephen. "Scoop: PlayStation's Wolverine creative director is now leading Xbox's Perfect Dark". www.gamefile.news. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  25. ^ McFerran, Damien (January 16, 2018). "Rumour: A New Perfect Dark Game Is In Development, But Rare Isn't Involved". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  26. ^ Tolbert, Samuel (December 16, 2020). "Perfect Dark: Everything you need to know". Windowscentral.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
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