The Initiative partners with Crystal Dynamics on Perfect Dark for Xbox Series X|S and PC

Perfect Dark Crystal Dynamics (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

What you need to know

The Initiative is a part of Xbox Game Studios, first founded in 2018.
At the Game Awards 2020, The Initiative revealed that it is working on a reboot of Perfect Dark.
The Initiative announced on Thursday that Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is aiding the project.

The Initiative, developer of upcoming first-person shooter Perfect Dark, announced on Thursday that the team is partnering with Crystal Dynamics in order to develop the upcoming near-future spy thriller.

Perfect Dark update! 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. pic.twitter.com/EiqjU99wMaPerfect Dark update! 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. pic.twitter.com/EiqjU99wMa— TheInitiative (@TheInitiative) September 24, 2021 September 24, 2021

The Initiative noted via Twitter that the game is still "early in development" but that the two teams are now working together. Interestingly enough, Darrell Gallagher, studio head of The Initiative, is the former head of Crystal Dynamics. Crystal Dynamics is owned by Square Enix and is primarily known for working on the Tomb Raider franchise, as well as more recently Marvel's Avengers.

The Initiative was first announced at E3 2018, a studio founded in Santa Monica, California from the ground up as part of Microsoft's renewed investment in gaming. The Perfect Dark reboot was then announced at the Game Awards 2020.

Whenever Perfect Dark arrives, it'll be available on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC. It'll also launch directly into Xbox Game Pass, like all first-party Xbox games.

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Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Bluesky ‪@samueltolbert.bsky.social‬.