This article was updated on 14/12 with additional corrections.
Veterans of the industry’s premier third-person action games are working on the new Perfect Dark at Xbox’s The Initiative studio.
Perfect Dark was announced during The Game Awardsthis week, finally confirming what the new first-part studio is creating, and VGC analysis has offered some context on the people behind the reboot.
Established in 2018,The Initiativeis led by Darrell Gallagher, the formerActivisiondevelopment boss and head ofCrystal Dynamics, developer of the Tomb Raider series.
In the years since, the Santa Monica, California-based outfit has grown its team with talent from studios includingNaughty Dog,Infinity Ward,Santa Monica StudioandBlizzard.
Given the extensive experience its staff has on series like Tomb Raider,God of WarandUncharted, it’s likely thatPerfect Darkwill feature third-person elements, though itsXbox game pagelists it as a first-person shooter.
In a developer video, reference is made to how the game will differ from “what you would see in a traditional first-person shooter”, butMicrosoft‘s marketing has so far only described the game as “a secret agent thriller”.
In charge of the project are game director Daniel Neuburger, who was a game director on the Tomb Raider series, and design director Drew Murray, who was the lead designer of Insomniac’s Sunset Overdrive.
The Initiative has also hired a group of God of War designersfor Perfect Dark. Chris O’Neill is Perfect Dark’s lead level designer, and The Initiative’s director of production, Brian Westergaard, also worked on God of War as senior managing producer.
Sean Slayback, who was most recently principal weapons designer atRespawn, is Perfect Dark’s lead systems designer. Slayback worked onTitanfall1 & 2, plus various Call of Duty titles includingModern Warfare2, and designed and implemented most weapons inApex Legends.
Christine Thompson, who wrote the campaigns forDestiny2 and Destiny: Rise of Iron, as well as various expansions, is Perfect Dark’s narrative lead.
Christian Cantamessa, the lead designer ofRockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, is Perfect Dark’s cinematics director. Cantamessa previously co-wrote and directed all of the cinematic sequences for Monolith’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor.
In art, Perfect Dark’s lead is Jason Priest, the former art director for 2011’s Homefront and lead environment artist for Insomniac’sSpider-Man. Ironically, Priest also worked on 2004’s GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, a spiritual successor to the classic FPS which Perfect Dark followed.
Eric Persson, previously the lead concept artist for Dice’s Battlefield series, is Perfect Dark’s associate art director.
Lee Davis, a ten-year veteran ofSonystudio Naughty Dog, is Perfect Dark’s lead animator. Davis most recently was in charge of melee animation inThe Last of Us Part 2.
Tyler Thornock, the lead technical director for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, is Perfect Dark’s principal technical animator.
The Initiative currently hassix open positions, including for a game design manager and lead VFX artist.
It’s not yet clear if any of the original Perfect Dark team members will be involved in the new game. However, original developerRareis likely to provide a small amount of production support for the project and Kenn Lobb, who produced the game atNintendo, is now creative director ofXboxGame Studios.
