The Xbox Games Showcase 2024 featured numerous exciting announcements, including a surprise reveal – the reboot of Perfect Dark, which had been quiet since its initial announcement in 2020. This summary will collate all known facts and explore the game’s potential worthiness of anticipation.
A little preface
In 2000, the British studio Rare released the science fiction shooter Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64, which garnered a 97% rating on Metacritic. Currently, Rare is developing Sea of Thieves Pirate Co-op.
Phil Spencer, at one point, grew weary of merely acquiring studios; occasionally, he preferred to establish a new studio to craft modern versions of his beloved classics. For instance, Microsoft founded The Initiative studio in 2018 in Santa Monica, California, led by Darrell Gallagher, the ex-head of Crystal Dynamics, who contributed to Tomb Raider from 2013 to 2015.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones did not initiate the “quadruple-A” trend. Previously, in 2018, Microsoft described the forthcoming Perfect Dark as a “AAA game,” aimed at enhancing the publisher’s game portfolio. The project was officially unveiled at The Game Awards 2020 with a staged, visually stunning CG video, offering no clues about the gameplay.
Impressions of the gameplay
In 2024, a staged gameplay trailer was presented, which does not mirror the actual gameplay but rather serves as a conceptual sketch of the developers’ ideal vision for the game. Let’s delve into the content displayed.
The game casts us as Agent Joanna Dark in a futuristic rendition of Cairo. The backstory reveals a succession of global catastrophes pushing Earth’s ecosystems to the verge of collapse.
The mission structure suggests a non-open-world format where players can scrutinize the surroundings and utilize various functions. Demonstrated features include voice analysis, allowing security systems to recognize individuals by their voice; remote manipulation, enabling the sending of audio messages to targets to trigger specific actions; and environment scanning, where enemies are marked in red and interactive elements in blue.
The parkour and combat systems are impressive, evoking memories of Mirror’s Edge and Dying Light. Joanna deftly jumps and climbs, skillfully engages in melee combat, and adeptly uses a pistol to shoot enemies, incorporating slides, grapples, and the environment into her tactics.
At this point, the project appears to be a vibrant FPS shooter, yet it’s uncertain if it will evolve into a fully immersive sim. It seems that Crystal Dynamics may have taken inspiration from Eidos Montreal—the creators of the Deus Ex series and collaborators on Crystal Dynamics’ titles—to create their own version of an immersive game.
The potential of the genre
Is there a need for immersive sims in the modern gaming industry? The consensus seems to lean towards the negative, particularly in light of recent developments involving key studios that have produced some of the genre’s most acclaimed titles.
Embracer Group has recently halted the development of a new Deus Ex game by Eidos Montreal after approximately two years of work, resulting in the layoff of 97 employees. Meanwhile, Warren Spector, known for his work on the original System Shock and Deus Ex games, is currently developing an immersive sim that will function as a service game.
Phil Spencer has closed Arkane Austin, the studio behind Prey (2017), which, as reported by Jason Schreier, had plans to revisit the development of a single-player immersive sim. Arkane Lyon, however, remains active and is working on a Marvel’s Blade project, though details are scarce. Additionally, several key figures have departed from Arkane studio over time, including founder and game designer Rafael Colantonio.
On the seventh day, Phil Spencer created a great AAAA game
The development of Perfect Dark began with a formidable team drawn from renowned studios such as BioWare, Naughty Dog, Respawn Entertainment, Santa Monica Studio, Blizzard Entertainment, Insomniac Games, and Rockstar Games. As seasoned developers joined the studio one by one, it created a buzz in the news media. It is essential to acknowledge and remember these courageous individuals before we proceed.
- Christian Cantamessa – Writer of Red Dead Redemption
- Brian Westergaard – producer of God of War 2018
- Robert Ryan – designer on Uncharted 3 and 4, The Last of Us 1 and 2
- Lee Davis – responsible for the melee animations in the Naughty Dog games;
- 4 Level designers from Sony Santa Monica: Ian Miller, Kai Zheng, Chris O’Neill and Ray Yeomans;
- Daniel Neuburger is one of the leaders of Tomb Raider in 13 and 15. He was the game director of Perfect Dark until February 22;
- Drew Murray is the game director of Sunset Overdrive, at Perfect Dark he became the design director;
- Sean Steibbeck is a senior designer on Apex Legends;
- Ryan Duffin is the lead animator at BioWare;
- Ryan Trowbridge – artist on Uncharted 4
- Eric Jacobsen is the Senior Environment Artist for God of War.
For a period, The Coalition studio, known for developing the Gears of War series, was primarily involved in the technical aspects of development. Matt Sersi, the campaign designer for the Gears of War series with a specialization in level design and mechanics, also contributed. Additionally, Nick Christian, the studio’s chief level designer, evaluated the project and its prospects externally. The game was designed to feature third-person gameplay, a single-player campaign, and multiplayer options.
Furthermore, by the end of 2019, the project had reached a playable state, as confirmed by CEO Matt Booty in an interview with GameInformer. The release of Perfect Dark was anticipated for the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023.
Despite the factors mentioned, by 2020, the studio had not finalized the main mechanics. They entered into a contract with Certain Affinity, known for their work on the multiplayer aspects of Halo and Call of Duty. It was at this point that the first signs of “production hell” emerged.
The team frequently revised game concepts and builds due to creative disagreements with management. Moreover, the employees of both The Initiative and Certain Affinity had differing visions for the project. The challenges were compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and remote work, which made it difficult to maintain a unified creative direction without strong leadership.
By spring 2021, a build featuring basic movement and combat mechanics, along with several level prototypes, was completed. However, the contract was not renewed, leaving the small yet agile team without the specialists needed to progress to the next development phase.
Subsequently, realizing the project’s uncertain future, approximately 35 people left the studio in 2021, including those in senior roles. The team shrank to 30 members, and development was halted for around nine months.
Complete restart of development
In mid-2021, The Initiative entered into a contract with Crystal Dynamics, following the latter’s unsuccessful Marvel’s Avengers project in 2020. After months of negotiation, they announced their partnership in September.
Early in 2022, Crystal Dynamics was handed the Perfect Dark vertical slice, an early prototype built on Unreal Engine 5, which required significant reworking. The rationale behind The Initiative’s decision to transition the project from Unreal Engine 4 to the newer version, which led to further complications, remains unclear. Concurrently, an additional 12 individuals departed from the studio.
Throughout 2022, Crystal Dynamics assumed a more prominent role in the development process than initially intended, driven by the recruitment of key specialists and their assumption of critical roles. Moreover, executives, excluding those from Microsoft, pushed for an acceleration of the development processes.
After a steady relaunch, the two studios achieved a productive workflow. In May 2023, Xbox executive Matt Booty conducted a thorough review of the game, confirming that nearly half of Crystal Dynamics’ staff, which is over 100 people, are working on Perfect Dark.
IGN published a report in June 2023 that examined the development of Perfect Dark, reiterating several previously mentioned points. The report revealed that by mid-2023, the reboot was still in the “pre-production” stage and at the very beginning of development, indicating a potential release timeline of an additional 2-3 years.
Ending with a quote: “I have been aware for some time that Perfect Dark is still in a very early phase. There has been no visible progress since its initial reveal.” – Journalist Jeff Grubb, 2024.
Conclusion
Approach Perfect Dark with caution despite the allure of its gameplay trailer. The game has been mired in “production hell,” and it may still be facing challenges.
Considering the typical 4 to 6-year development cycle in today’s gaming industry, Perfect Dark is expected to release between 2024 and 2025, or at the latest, between 2026 and 2028. However, the presentation did not confirm a release date, nor did it clarify if the game will be available on Game Pass, although indications from the Xbox website suggest it will be included.
Given Microsoft’s history, there’s a risk that Perfect Dark may not meet expectations due to lax oversight of its studios and a lack of marketing. Moreover, there’s speculation that Microsoft may not launch the game on PlayStation 5, which could be a significant misstep, potentially resulting in lower sales figures.
