Fans have been waiting for the Perfect Dark reboot release date since the game was announced at The Game Awards 2020. However, since then, some leaks have pointed toward development being problematic, and some of hypothesized it’s heading toward cancelation. We’ll take a look at everything we know about the Perfect Dark reboot below, including possible release dates, leaks, story, and more.
Perfect Dark reboot release date rumors
The Perfect Dark reboot release date isn’t currently known. The studio working on it, The Initiative, was founded in 2018. It was formed to produce “quadruple-A” games, and it has attracted talent from across the industry. However, since the game was announced to be in production, very little info has been released. According to VentureBeat, the game was internally tracking for a 2023 launch, but we’re still waiting for official word.
In September 2021, The Initiative announced that it was partnering with Crystal Dynamics to develop the game. Bringing another studio in to assist when a game has already been in development for 2-3 years isn’t always the best sign that things are going well.
However, some recent news gave credence to the hypothesis that the Perfect Dark reboot has been canceled or that the studio restarted development. VGC reported that throughout 2021 The Initiative saw a ton of senior developers leave the studio. Game director Dan Neuburger, design director Drew Murray, lead level designer Chris O’Neill, principal world builder Jolyon Myers, several senior system designers, two senior writers, the technical director, tech art director, lead gameplay engineer, lead animator, QA lead, and numerous others quit within that 12 months.
With The Initiative bleeding staff, Microsoft likely called on Crystal Dynamics to do a little more than “help” with development. Unfortunately, Embracer’s purchase of Crystal Dynamics may throw another wrench into the works for the game, but nothing has been announced yet.
Perfect Dark reboot story
As the name suggests, the Perfect Dark reboot (tentatively titled Perfect Dark) is a reboot of the series. All we have to go on concerning the story so far is the short announcement trailer and a few pieces of concept art.
The voiceover in the trailer tells us that global warming has melted the polar ice caps causing massive storms and climate change across the earth. Apparently, corporations had some solutions to these issues, but it appears that they come with a price. It appears that one of these corporations is dataDyne and Johanna Dark has to infiltrate one of its facilities in Egypt for some reason.
The original Perfect Dark didn’t take us to Egypt at any point. So, it’d be fair to guess that The Initiative’s reboot will tell an entirely new story instead of adapting the original game. Unfortunately, if we had to guess, this will lack the camp and humor of the original and go for a dark, gritty approach like every other game does nowadays.
So, instead of siding with Elvis the Maian against the insidious Skedar, prepare for a super serious look at why corporations and global warming are bad. Also, Johanna will likely be angstry and have some needless tragic backstory (which we already get a hint of in the trailer), which will be completely out of place because intelligence agencies prize emotional stability in their secret agents.
What platforms will it come to?
Since Perfect Dark is owned by Microsoft, it’ll likely be exclusive to Xbox. Since its release date is still a ways off, we would bet on it being an Xbox Series X|S console exclusive. It may also come to PC, but no official announcement has been made yet. As a first-party Xbox title, you can expect it to hit Xbox Game Pass on day one, which is excellent.
