Xbox’s new ‘AAAA’ studio rumoured to be resurrecting Perfect Dark

By Tom Regan
last updated

Microsoft’s ‘The Initiative’ is reportedly working on a third person Perfect Dark title.

(Image credit: Rare, Xbox)

Microsoft’s all new ‘AAAA’ studio is working on a new Perfect Dark game.

That's according to journalist Jeff Grubb (opens in new tab) (thanks VGC (opens in new tab)). Reporting the scoop  in the most 2020 way (via comments in a Twitch chat window (opens in new tab)) Grubb claims that Xbox’s latest first party studio, The Initiative  is hard at work creating a third person title set in the same universe as the beloved N64 shooter.

If true, this upcoming outing, almost certainly for Xbox Series X (opens in new tab), would be the first new entry in Rare’s beloved FPS franchise since 2005’s middling Perfect Dark Zero on Xbox 360. Grubb’s comments follow the discussion of a recent tweet by Xbox head Phil Spencer, who described The Initiative as “challenging themselves to do new things (and old things) in new ways.”

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This isn’t the first time that Spencer has hinted at Microsoft’s shiny new game studio resurrecting an old IP. During an interview with Inside Xbox at E3 2018 (opens in new tab), Spencer has this to say:

“[Studio head, Darrell Gallagher] really loved his time with Crystal Dynamics, working on Lara Croft and Tomb Raider, kind of re-working some of that franchise. We were talking about some things in our past that might be interesting… nothing to announce yet, but just some things that he might want to go work on.”

Aside from a logo, little else has been shared about Microsoft’s mysterious new maestros. We do know, however, that the Santa Monica based Initiative is turning into a bit of a game dev supergroup. Described in a (now deleted) Microsoft job listing as an ‘AAAA’ studio, The Initiative is comprised of developers who have worked on franchises like Apex Legends, Tomb Raider, Gears of War, Doom 2016 and Uncharted. With such a strong line-up of developer pedigree, we can't wait to see what they come up with.

Stay on top of the latest releases with our roundup of upcoming games 2020 (opens in new tab) and beyond.

Tom Regan
Tom Regan
Freelance Writer

Tom is a freelance journalist and former PR with over five years worth of experience across copy-writing, on-camera presenting, and journalism.

Named one of the UK games industry’s rising stars by Gamesindustry.biz, Tom has been published by world-leading outlets such as: Fandom, The Guardian, NME, Ars Technica, GamesRadar, Engadget, IGN, Techradar, Red Bull, and EDGE.