Everything we know about Perfect Dark

Perfect Dark was originally a First-Person shooter developed by Rare as a kind of unofficial ‘spiritual successor’ to their seminal classic, GoldenEye 007. Rare lost the bid on the IP and a sequel to Electronic Arts, so they pivoted and created Perfect Dark instead. The game did get a follow up, with Perfect Dark Zero releasing as a launch title for the Xbox 360, all the way back in 2005. For now, let’s try and answer some questions – what’s the gameplay like? Are there gadgets as well as guns? Is Perfect Dark on PS5?

A New Perfect Dark Revealed

After 15 years without a new game, a reboot of Perfect Dark was revealed during The Game Awards in 2020, with a planned launch for the then recently released Xbox Series X|S. This new Perfect Dark was being developed by a new team called The Initiative, which was founded by Microsoft in 2018.

Considered a reboot of the IP, Perfect Dark was planned to be a new type of secret agent thriller set in a near-future world. It had a snazzy CGI trailer to show it off for the first time, with a dystopian future city set in Egypt, with terrifying weather systems causing all sorts of carnage. It even snuck in a nice DataDyne reference for fans of the franchise. Following that reveal, just like the game – things went dark.

Perfect Dark Gameplay Reveal

During the recent Xbox Games Showcase for 2024, Perfect Dark got a brand new gameplay filled trailer. The game is being co-developed between Xbox Game Studios ‘The Initiative’ and Embracer-owned studio ‘Crystal Dynamics’.

Built using Unreal Engine 5, this was the first time we got a decent look at the world and proposed gameplay and mechanics of this new spy-shooter.

You play as Agent Joanna Dark and the game is designed to be a completely single-player experience, with a set of missions that can be completed in a variety of ways. The trailer opens as Agent Dark paraglides into what we presume is the same future-Cairo, landing on the rooftops. We see her utilising new gadgets to scan audio from NPCs to grant access to restricted areas as she chases down her mission objective – an individual named ‘Carrington’ (Another reference to the original game for the fans).

As per Xbox Wire: Perfect Dark’s near-future world has been impacted by what’s known as “The Cascade,” in which the planet has suffered from a series of environmental disasters, rendering entire regions inhospitable to human life. In the wake of the disaster, a hypercorporation known as Core Mantis steps in to create a solution known as The GEN Network, and deploys it in Cairo – restoring ecological balance and creating a freshly walled city, insulated from the hostile environment outside to become a center for technological innovation.

There are hints of immersive sim like gameplay, and it has us salivating at the gameplay possibilities ahead. Could we go in all guns blazing? Is there another method for access beyond copying the NPC voice pattern? For answers to those questions, we’ll have to wait and see.

She then uses new parkour skills to gain access to nearby window. Climbing pipes, wall running and vaulting through windows are all on display here, and it looks great.

We then see our spy-shooter in full display with a combination of first person shooting and first person dynamic combat. Sliding into combat, shooting enemies via non-lethal takedowns and even utilising objects in the environment to create distractions – the combination of both gunplay and melee is assuredly tantalising.

When is Perfect Dark Releasing?

So far, no date has been given for Perfect Dark’s release. However, we’d like to make an educated guess and hope that both Microsoft and The Initiative are aiming for a 2026 release, but you should take this as a pure guesstimate, and nothing more.

What Platforms is Perfect Dark releasing on?

Currently, Perfect Dark is planned for Xbox Series consoles and Windows PC. There are plenty of questions as to whether that will change in the future due to Microsoft’s new willingness to release their franchises on rival consoles, but for now – there’s no current plans to release the game on additional hardware, like releasing Perfect Dark on PS5 for example.

We’re certainly hopeful to see even more gameplay and details at next years Xbox Games Showcase.