Xbox has officially announced a new Perfect Dark from The Initiative

New Xbox studio finally announces its debut project at The Game Awards

New Xbox studio The Initiative has officially announced its Perfect Dark reboot for Xbox Series X/S and PC.

The release will mark the Rare shooter series’ first instalment since 2005’s Perfect Dark Zero, which launched alongside the Xbox 360.

In a statement, The Initiative studio head Darrell Gallagher said the new game will be a secret agent thriller set in a near-future world.

“We have built the Perfect Dark team at The Initiative by bringing in some of the most talented game makers from around the industry who all share a passion for storytelling, world-building and creating memorable game experiences,” he wrote.

“With the full backing from Xbox Studios to re-imagine one of the best loved IPs from gaming history, we couldn’t be more excited to share some of our early ideas.

“I encourage you to watch the above studio introduction to hear more about the team, our goals, and how we’re working hard to deliver on the promise of the next generation of game making.”

The Initiative is a new first-party Xbox game studio based in Santa Monica. The company was formed in 2018 and is comprised of a veteran team of creatives who previously worked on series including Tomb Raider, God of War and Uncharted.

Both Gallagher and game director Daniel Neuburger led the Tomb Raider series at Crystal Dynamics, while lead designer Drew Murray held the same role for Insomniac’s Sunset Overdrive.

The Initiative has also hired a group of God of War designers and its director of production, Brian Westergaard, worked on God of War too as senior managing producer.

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer previously suggested that the studio could be working on a legacy IP, long speculated to be Rare’s spy shooter Perfect Dark – which would match the “weapons, gadgets, and a camera surveillance system” gameplay described in a recent designer CV.