The head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty has shared that the upcoming reboot of Perfect Dark is being done “very carefully” so that it works for modern-day audiences.
During a Pax West 2022 interview, which was shared on Twitter (September 2), Booty was asked how one reboots Joanna Dark – the protagonist of Perfect Dark – in the modern age. To this, he said, “very carefully,” going on to add, “those things they don’t always age well…”
Booty doesn’t clarify this statement, but by the way the question is asked and answered he could be referring to the design choices of Joanna Dark when the game originally launched in 2000.
Matt Booty describes rebooting Perfect Dark for the modern day as “Very Carefully”.
He also describles the game as a cross between a Bourne Identity and James Bond. pic.twitter.com/z6lk4OJSZU
— Idle Sloth💙💛 (@IdleSloth84) September 2, 2022
“What I think is super cool about Perfect Dark, what’s super cool about Joanna Dark is the super agent fantasy, the spy, the sort of Bourne Identity, James Bond kind of thing there,” Booty continued. “That’s always a cool meme people wanna lean into – again, we gotta make sure that comes forward in the right way, so I’m just gonna stick to ‘very carefully’.”
The Perfect Dark remake was announced back in 2020 and will be developed by Microsoft’s studio The Initiative. The game is expected to launch for Xbox consoles and PC but there isn’t a release window just yet.
A trailer debuted at The Game Awards 2020 and featured a futuristic world and a sneak peek at the new Joanna Dark. The reboot is described as a “blockbuster secret agent” game and a reinvention of the franchise.
Earlier this year, a report suggested that The Initiative was facing significantly high turnover and issues with slow progress, but no new updates have been provided.
In other news, Splatoon 3 fans should be aware of online spoilers ahead of its launch, as some players have been sent their copies early.
