Briant Horton, who was previously named creative director of Insomniac Games's upcoming PlayStation game Marvel's Wolverine, is reportedly now leading development on Xbox's Perfect Dark game. Horton was introduced as the creative director of Marvel's Wolverine when it was first announced in 2021, but according to sources familiar with the game's development, he hasn't been involved with the project since the summer.
Horton, who also worked as creative director on Insomniac Games' Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, is now serving as the creative director for Perfect Dark, Xbox's highly anticipated first-person shooter that's currently being co-developed by Microsoft's The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics.
Confirming Horton's role on Perfect Dark, an Xbox rep told Game File he will be “bringing his wealth of experience to the upcoming reboot of the classic secret agent series."
Announced at The Game Awards in 2020, Perfect Dark is a reboot of the sci-fi shooter series that was originally launched for Nintendo 64 in 2000. Coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC, it's a first-person secret agent thrill set in a near-future world featuring an entirely new story and universe, but with inspiration from elements of the first two games.
"For previous fans and new players alike, the new game offers a fresh take on the secret agent experience, and is a great opportunity to jump into the world and character," Xbox said of the reboot last summer. "Though fans will have moments that resonate with the history and memories of the original games, no prior knowledge is needed in this new experience."
The game is set in a near-future world imapcted by "The Cascade" -- a series of environmental disasters that have rendered entire regions inhospitable to human life. Players take on the role of Joanna (voiced by Alix Wilton Regan with Elissa Bibaud lending visual likeness), an agent for the megacorporation dataDyne with a deep personal connection to what's happening to her world.
As for Marvel's Wolverine, it's an action-adventure game from the studio that brought us the critically acclaimed Marvel's Spider-Man franchise. A Sony rep confirmed that it is now being helmed by creative director Marcus Smith with Mike Daly serving as the game director. Smith and Daly previously held these respective roles on Insomniac's 2021 game Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Cameron Christian, the previously announced game director for Marvel's Wolverine, remains at the studio but in a different role. According to Game File's sources, the changes in creative leadership were due to a difference in creative decisions.
Sony has yet to announce a release date for Marvel's Wolverine. A giant data leak from Insomniac in 2023 revealed a ton of details and concept art about the game.