Perfect Dark Trailer Makes Shocking Debut at The Game Awards 2020

Perfect Dark returned at The Game Awards 2020 as Microsoft confirmed that recently formed studio The Initiative is working on a title set in the franchise’s universe.

Very little is known about the game at this time, but you can get a brief look at what the revival has in store by checking out its debut trailer:

What little else we know about this project besides the information made available in the trailer above comes from a brief pre-roll from The Initiative team that aired during The Game Awards. In it, the team revealed that Perfect Dark will feature a story that seemingly focuses on the global impact of corporate advancements. It seems that the environment took a big hit in the name of progress, but there was also a hint that we may get a peek into the more advanced world that emerged before that happened.

Interestingly, it was also noted that Perfect Dark will feature first-person gameplay but it was strongly suggested that this upcoming title may not be a strict FPS. Could that mean that Perfect Dark will end up being a first-person RPG type of experience along the lines of games like Cyberpunk 2077? 

Pretty much all we have to work with at this point is speculation surrounding questions such as that. For instance, we’d assume that the title of this project means that it’ll be closer to a reboot than a strict follow-up to the existing games in the series, but nothing has been confirmed at this time regarding the finer points of the project’s plot. At the very least, the debut trailer suggests that Joanna Dark will return in a starring role. In any case, it certainly sounds like the Perfect Dark developer Rare is excited about this project and what they’ve seen of it so far. At the very least, they took to their Twitter account to express their confidence in The Initiative to take “us back to the future of espionage in their reimagining of the Perfect Dark universe!” 

Good day, Miss Dark. Yes, the talented team at @TheInitiative will be taking us back to the future of espionage in their reimagining of the Perfect Dark universe! We’re very impressed by everything we’ve seen so far, and we hope you’re all equally excited for Jo’s return. https://t.co/eAnIUT2aq5

— Rare Ltd. (@RareLtd) December 11, 2020

They’re certainly not the only ones expecting big things from The Initiative. The studio was formed as kind of a Microsoft super team, but it’s still shocking to hear that their first big project will seemingly be a revival of a largely beloved franchise that’s been dormant in the roughly 15 years since the game fell on its face a bit with the release of Perfect Dark Zero for the Xbox 360. The potential for this franchise is immense, but it remains to be seen where it goes from here.