Much has been written about the new first party studio from Microsoft, The Initiative. The studio has been hiring some high class talent from across the industry, as well as hyping up what they’re working on as crazy and ambitious. There’s lots of guesses about what it is, but now a new rumor is pointing us toward a possible revival of a classic franchise.
During the KindaFunnyGames GamesDaily podcast video on Twitch, a rather noted guest dropped into the chat. VentureBeat’s Jeffrey Grubb began posting at roughly the 44 minute mark, which you can see a link to here. As the hosts began speculating about what the studio could be working on, Grubb explicitly stated the game is Perfect Darkand would also be in third person. On his official Twitter, he clarified saying it may not be Perfect Dark itself, but something that is set in that universe.
If you aren’t familiar, Perfect Dark was a game from Rare that launched on the Nintendo 64 and was something of a spiritual successor to the company’s beloved and influential GoldenEye 007. It later got a prequel, Perfect Dark Zero, at the launch of the Xbox 360 after Rare was purchased by Microsoft, but since then the franchise had been dormant. The games followed Joanna Dark, a secret agent battling an alien conspiracy in a future time. What The Initiative’s game actually is, we most likely won’t see it for at least another 2-3 years.
“confirm” is a loaded term. I said it. As @Rand_al_Thor_19 points out, it might not be exactly Perfect Dark, but it’s playing in that universe.
— grubbsnax is back (@JeffGrubb) August 26, 2020