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The Initiative is reportedly working on a new third-person Perfect Dark game

Sources claim that a new Perfect Dark game is currently in development.

Donovan Erskine

August 26, 2020 1:00 PM

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With the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 just around the corner, both Microsoft and Sony are looking to load up on new games for players to experience on the next-gen consoles. Often criticized for their lack of exclusives, we’ve seen Microsoft make a conscious effort to acquire more studios and get more titles in development under the Xbox Studios banner. We may have an idea of what one of the upcoming games are, as The Initiative is reportedly working on a new Perfect Dark video game. 

It was back at E3 2019 that Head of Xbox Phil Spencer took the stage to announce that Microsoft had acquired Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Compulsion, and Undead Labs. During this conference, it was also announced that Microsoft had created The Initiative, a “AAAA” studio that was hard at work on a major Xbox title. Things have been hush since then, but we’ve finally got an idea of what the studio is working on. 

Jeffery Grubb, a Staff Writer for VentureBeat, was in the chat during a KindaFunny Twitch stream where he made comments in the chat about The Initiative's upcoming project being Perfect Dark. He later clarified those statements in a full article. 

While The Initiative’s project may not necessarily be Perfect Dark 3, sources close to the project claim that it is set within the Perfect Dark universe. The game is also reportedly a third-person shooter, a departure from past games in the series. Microsoft has been injecting life into their dormant franchises, take the Fable reboot, for example. It’s not too wild to think they’re looking to revive Perfect Dark as well.

If Perfect Dark really is The Initiative’s secret project, it will likely be revealed in a future Xbox showcase. When that time comes, we’ll have the latest details for you right here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_