Crystal Dynamics to work on upcoming Xbox Series X Perfect Dark video game

Brad Stephenson

Perfect Dark video game on Xbox Series X

Microsoft game studio, The Initiative, announced on their official Twitter account today that Crystal Dynamics would be collaborating with them on their upcoming reinvention of the Perfect Dark video game franchise.

“We are partnering with Crystal Dynamics, the world class team behind character-driven games such as Tomb Raider, to bring this first-person spy thriller to a new generation,” the account posted earlier today. “The teams couldn’t pass up a chance to work together.  We’re still early in development, but incredibly excited to use this unique opportunity to deliver on the vision for Perfect Dark!”

The official Crystal Dynamics account shared the announcement and stated “We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with The Initiative to bring Perfect Dark to a new generation of gamers! We thrive on reimagining epic heroes and can’t wait to realize this first-person spy thriller together. We’re thrilled to add Perfect Dark to our development efforts alongside Marvel’s Avengers and Tomb Raider.”

The new Perfect Dark video game was officially announced back in December during the The Game Awards. While no release date (or even release year) has been locked in yet, the game is confirmed to be coming to Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X and S consoles, not the last-gen Xbox One, and will be playable at launch for free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

The first Perfect Dark video game came out on the Nintendo 64 console in the year 2000. It’s considered by most to be the spiritual successor to the mega-popular GoldenEye 007 video game that came out a few years prior in 1997 due to its use of a similar game engine and focus on first-person spy action and intrigue.

Later in 2000, the original title was followed by a Perfect Dark video game on Nintendo’s Game Boy Color while a proper sequel, Perfect Dark Zero, eventually came to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in 2005. A remaster of the original Nintendo 64 game was developed for the Xbox 360 in 2010.

Curiously, all of the Perfect Dark video games are set very near our current present. The original game’s story was set in 2023, the Game Boy Color game in 2022, and the Xbox 360 sequel in 2020.

It’s unclear what exact year the upcoming Perfect Dark game’s story is set in but it would be interesting if it launched in 2023 to tie-in with the original game’s setting.

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