More hints point to The Initiative working on a Perfect Dark reboot

New speculation about a Perfect Dark reboot has flared up after a Twitter user linked to the LinkedIn profile of a former employee of The Initiative, who detailed certain elements of his job that maybe, sort of resemble Rare’s long-dormant series.

Twitter user Klobrille (via VG 24/7) pointed to a former Initiative technical designer, Christopher Ng, who “designed and scripted various weapons, gadgets, and a camera surveillance system for an unannounced project,” as well as being responsible for “scrpting and creating various world interactables and gameplay objects, such as doors, destructibles, hazards, triggers, and much more” in Unreal Engine 4. The developer left The Initiative in February 2020.

There are several reasons why many ResetEra users are thinking that this means that The Initiative is working on a Perfect Dark reboot. Camera surveillance systems, weapons, and gadgets all point to The Initiative working on some sort of spy-themed game, of which Perfect Dark is one. Microsoft also bought all the rights to Rare’s IP library when it purchased the studio, including Perfect Dark and Rare has previously stated that it’s more interested in making new IPs than revisiting old ones, which would mean that Perfect Dark is up for grabs.

Ng isn’t the only one with credentials that point to The Initiative rebooting Rare’s second-most popular first-person shooter. Studio head Darrell Gallagher was previously the head of development at Activision and oversaw several Call of Duty entries, as well as working on 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot as Crystal Dynamics’ studio head. Senior producer Johal Gow previously worked at Treyarch on Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Black Ops 4. Likewise, gameplay engineer Jon Lew worked on Call of Duty: WWII at Sledgehammer Games.

In addition to these folks, The Initiative has been acquiring a dream team of developers from studios like Naughty Dog and Rockstar, and quickly received the reputation for being one of Xbox Game Studios most exciting new ventures, but its project has remained under wraps. Would Xbox want its first built-from-scratch, first-party studio to revisit an old IP, or would Phil Spencer and the rest want to see what new IP The Initiative could launch to add to the pantheon of Halo, Forza, and Gears of War? The experience in rebooting franchises and creating successful first-person shooters is definitely there, but The Initiative’s mission statement is about “building the next big thing in gaming,” according to its website, and it’s unclear if a Perfect Dark reboot fits that description.

We’ll probably get a hint at what The Initiative and the other Xbox Game Studios developers have been working on soon, as Xbox head Phil Spencer recently hinted that Xbox will be revealing some new upcoming titles for the next-gen console sooner rather than later.