Changes in leadership for Wolverine and Perfect Dark

Leadership dynamics have shifted at two highly-anticipated first-party projects: Wolverine at PlayStation and Perfect Dark with Xbox.

According to a statement from Sony to Game File, Marcus Smith will now serve as the creative director of Wolverine, succeeding Brian Horton. Smith's previous roles include creative director of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Miles Morales, and game director of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

As reported by Game File, Horton has transitioned from PlayStation to Xbox and is currently leading as the creative director for The Initiative's Perfect Dark, a reboot of the renowned secret agent series.

Horton, who had been with the Wolverine project since 2021, stepped away from it earlier this year.

Wolverine's game director Cameron Christian is being replaced by Mike Daly, while Christian is set to continue at Insomniac in a different capacity. Daly has previously directed Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, also serving as lead designer for Miles Morales.

Announced in 2021, Insomniac's Wolverine was among several games whose details, such as gameplay and plot, were leaked after a breach at Insomniac last year.

The revival of Perfect Dark was unveiled in 2020. As developers at The Initative noted, it stayed in pre-production for three years amidst management upheavals and changes in staff. The first gameplay footage was revealed earlier this year during the Xbox Games Showcase.