When Perfect Dark was released on Nintendo 64 more than two decades ago, it was developed by Rare, the same studio that made GoldenEye 007. Several years after its announcement, a new entry in the Perfect Dark series was finally unveiled a few days ago at the Xbox Games Showcase. While the new entry looks like an exciting evolution of the original Perfect Dark concept, older fans might be disappointed to know that it won’t feature the same musical talent behind the N64 game. Original composer Grant Kirkhope has revealed that he has no involvement in the new series entry.ย
“I would’ve loved to have scored the new Perfect Dark, alas it wasn’t to be,” Kirkhope wrote on X/Twitter.ย
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Who Is Composing the New Perfect Dark?
Kirkhope went on to note that he did demo for the soundtrack, “but they chose someone else.” While Kirkhope’s absence from the new Perfect Dark is disappointing, it’s not all that surprising. The development team doesn’t seem to have anyone that worked on past games in the series. Many of Rare’s veterans left the company to found Playtonic several years ago, and the new game isn’t even being made by the current team; Perfect Dark is a collaboration between The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics. While we don’t know the reason that Kirkhope wasn’t selected for the soundtrack, it’s possible the developers (and Xbox) wanted to take things in a new direction.ย
Following those comments from Kirkhope, David Clynick also confirmed that he will not be involved with the new Perfect Darkย soundtrack, though he will “most likely remix it.” Clynick was also involved with the soundtrack for the original game, and served as the sole composer for Perfect Dark Zero. At this time, we don’t know who will be providing the music for the next game in the series, though Kirkhope said on X/Twitter that he thinks he knows who got the job.ย
Kirkhope’s History
Kirkhope has a long history in the video game industry, and worked on several of Rare’s most famous games, including Banjo-Kazooie, Blast Corps, and GoldenEye 007. He’s also responsible for the creation of the infamous DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64. More recently, he’s worked on the Mario + Rabbids games, as well as the Yooka-Laylee series. A Yooka-Laylee remaster was announced earlier this month, and Playtonic has hinted that it could feature an updated take on Kirkhope’s Yooka Rap from the previous game.ย
Are you excited for the new Perfect Dark? Who do you think will compose the game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky atย @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
