According to a new rumor, Perfect Dark could be the next Rare Ltd. franchise to get a new series entry. Earlier this year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer cryptically hinted that The Initiative might be working on an existing IP. Reporter Jeff Grubb now claims the studio is developing a game set in the same universe as the Perfect Dark series. Unlike the first two series entries, this one will apparently take place from a third-person perspective. Given the fact that team members from The Initiative have previously worked on the Tomb Raider franchise, that would make a lot of sense!
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“confirm” is a loaded term. I said it. As @Rand_al_Thor_19 points out, it might not be exactly Perfect Dark, but it’s playing in that universe.
— grubbsnax is back (@JeffGrubb) August 26, 2020
The previous two entries in the Perfect Dark saga were developed by Rare, but it’s been nearly 15 years since Perfect Dark Zero launched alongside the Xbox 360. Since then, Rare has shifted focus away from existing IPs, and towards new franchises, such as the upcoming Xbox Series X game, Everwild. However, last week saw the release of a new Battletoads game, which was developed by Dlala Studios. While Rare might not be interested in creating new games with its existing stable of IPs, clearly Microsoft is still interested in doing so.
The move would be in keeping with some other recent decisions Microsoft has been making. Last month, a new iteration in the Fable series was also announced, and fans had been waiting nearly 10 years for a new game in that series. With a new console generation set to start in a few short months, it’s possible that Microsoft is looking at its stable of franchises for ways to compete with Sony.
Back in May, the original Perfect Dark celebrated its 20th anniversary, and many fans expressed their desire to see a new game in the series. If the rumors do prove correct, it will be interesting to see how those fans might react to a shift to third-person. Perfect Dark was initially created as a follow-up to GoldenEye, and some believe the game actually surpassed its predecessor. A third-person spin-off might not be what fans had in mind, but given the number of first-person shooters on Xbox, a third-person game might make a bit more sense. For now, fans will just have to wait and see what happens!
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