Rumors: The Initiative will debut a third-person game set in the Perfect Dark universe
The mysterious studio The Initiative, which Microsoft opened in 2018, is hiring top talent from all corners of the industry and is working on some kind of “ambitious” project with an AAAA budget. What this game is is unknown, but a new rumor points to confirmation of one of the assumptions – the revival of the old franchise.
During the Kinda Funny Games podcast on Twitch, VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grabb and the hosts began to discuss what is being developed within the walls of The Initiative. Grubb stated bluntly that it was Perfect Dark, and it would be from a third-person perspective. Later on Twitter, the journalist clarified that the project may not be called Perfect Dark, but the events of the game will unfold in this universe.
The Initiative is led by Darrell Gallagher, former head of the Tomb Raider series and head of Western products for Square Enix, including Life is Strange, Just Cause 3, and Rise of the Tomb Raider. Recently, the team joined 16 new employees. They include people from BioWare, Naughty Dog, Crystal Dynamics, The Coalition, Insomniac Games, Treyarch, and Respawn Entertainment, as well as Marvel’s Avengers director Remi Lacoste and Destiny 2 narrative director Christine Thompson.
Perfect Dark was developed by Rare back in the days when it was owned by Nintendo. This is a spy first-person shooter, which is the spiritual successor of another project of the team, GoldenEye 007. Perfect Dark was released in 2000 on the Nintendo 64. In 2005, three years after the purchase by Microsoft, Rare released a prequel on the Xbox 360 – Perfect Dark Zero. Both games are about the adventures of secret agent Joanna Dark, who opposes an alien conspiracy in the future.
