‘Perfect Dark’ development rumors: The Initiative is ‘dabbling’ with franchise not exactly making a third-person reboot, gaming insider clarifies

Rumors about an upcoming “Perfect Dark” title with third-person gameplay quickly spread online over the past week, thanks to well-known industry insider Jeff Grubb. He now clarifies, however, that “AAAA” studio The Initiative is only “dabbling” with the popular first-person shooter franchise.

New ‘Perfect Dark’ game in the making after 10 years of total silence?

It has been a decade since the latest “Perfect Dark” title came out and launched on the Xbox 360 system. Despite its loyal following, it did not see a new title released on the Xbox One. So it was not surprising that fans were quick to react with excitement when a little information emerged online referencing an upcoming “Perfect Dark” game.

The speculations got even more attention when Grubb suggested in a Twitch chat that The Initiative is working on third-person “Perfect Dark.” It was an important detail because the game franchise has been popular for its first-person gameplay.

Grubb now clarifies, after reviewing his notes, that The Initiative is not exactly developing a “Perfect Dark” follow-up title or a reboot with third-person mode. He said on GamesBeat, the AAAA studio is “dabbling with the Perfect Dark universe for its upcoming game” citing a source with knowledge of The Initiative’s plan.

This changes what fans have been speculating on because it could mean that The Initiative is only using “Perfect Dark” as an inspiration or model for its upcoming game that might even be an entirely different title. Grubb further advised fans not to specifically expect “Perfect Dark” main protagonist Joanna Dark to return with a new adventure. He then compared the upcoming game to the connection between “Apex Legends” and “Titanfall.”

Is a new ‘Perfect Dark’ game still possible?

Grubb also did not dismiss the likelihood of The Initiative revisiting familiar titles like “Perfect Dark.” He recalled a tweet from Xbox boss Phil Spence from January where he mentioned meeting with people from the AAAA studio saying, “Incredibly talented studio challenging themselves to do new things things (and old things :-) ) in new ways.”

The Initiative is called an AAAA studio, which simply means it is meant to develop big titles with big funding as well. There is then plenty of things at stake for its first project, it might not hurt to build on or even directly revive a fan-favorite franchise similar to “Perfect Dark.”