Perfect Dark: everything we know so far

By Jesse Lennox June 12, 2024

Joanna Dark posing with a pistol. — The Initiative

We haven’t seen or heard from secret agent Joanna Dark since the launch of the Xbox 360, and that’s not because she’s undercover. A new entry in this cult classic firstperson shooter series was revealed in 2020, but seemed to vanish into thin air between then and now. Thankfully, we have signs of life for this project from The Initiative and reason to start getting excited. You don’t need to go back and play the old games to catch up with Agent Dark for the upcoming Perfect Dark when we can fully brief you right here on all the details of this upcoming spy-thriller.

Release date speculation

Perfect Dark's protagonist, Joanna Dark. — The Initiative

Between the first trailer in 2020 and the latest at the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, Perfect Dark has never had even a release window presented. Based on all the rumored turmoil and development woes behind the scenes, it seems like this project didn’t really get started until quite recently. With no window given, we speculate it won’t be ready until 2026 at the earliest.

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Platforms

A train station in Perfect Dark. — The Initiative

No platforms are listed for Perfect Dark, but the only thing we can say for sure at this time is that it will be on Xbox consoles and PC via Game Pass. There is a chance it could come to PlayStation too, either upon release or after, as Xbox has done with previous titles. For example, c will launch on all platforms upon release in 2025. We’ll have to wait and see which direction Xbox chooses to take for this specific game.

Trailers

Perfect Dark - Gameplay Reveal - Xbox Games Showcase 2024

The Gameplay Reveal trailer brings us into the new world of Perfect Dark. Set in the near future, you play a secret agent for a company known as dataDyne in a world that has been hit by something called “The Cascade.” This event has caused multiple natural disasters and pushed humanity back to a few key habitable zones. Certain “hypercorporations” have appeared to try and find solutions and restore life to parts of the globe, including The GEN Network, which has made a walled city in Cairo.

Cairo will be the primary setting for Perfect Dark, but the greater picture of the plot is still a secret.

Gameplay

Joanna Dark shooting in Perfect Dark. — The Initiative

The gameplay reveal trailer features Dark on a mission to find and capture a man named Daniel Carrington to stop a planned attack of some kind. To track him down, Dark has a set of spy tools to use, such as a scan to highlight individuals and a vocal analyzer to recreate the voices of whoever you scan. This can be used to enter restricted areas, as well as to distract guards to sneak by unnoticed.

In a similar style to Mirror’s Edge, you will be able to parkour your way around the environment. Joanna can run along walls, climb on pipes, and slide under low barriers.

Combat itself mixes melee combat with shooting, plus your gadgets as assists. It isn’t clear if it is done for dramatic effect or is an actual mechanic, but we do see a bullet-time feature as Joanna slides and fires her pistol. Despite disarming an enemy at one point, we never see the use of any weapon other than the pistol, but it is almost certain more weapons will be available.

The choice to be lethal or nonlethal is a key aspect of combat, but we don’t know what consequences or benefits either method will have.

Preorder

Dark copying someone's voice in Perfect Dark. — The Initiative

With no release window at this time, preorders for Perfect Dark are also unknown. Once we know more, we will keep you updated.

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Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…

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