The development of "Dark Sector" was announced on February 11, 2000, on Digital Extremes' website. The game was originally proposed as a follow up to Digital Extremes and Epic Games' critically acclaimed multiplayer first-person shooter, "Unreal Tournament". However, the original plan was scrapped and the game was not spoken of for another four years, during which the game underwent a massive change in focus. The original design had the game keeping in line with its predecessor as a multiplayer arena-style first-person shooter. An in-game cinematic unveiled years later in 2004, gave viewers a brief look at potential storylines and environments, as well as the graphics of the game. Digital Extremes specifically stated that the clips were not pre-rendered and were actual in-game footage. The game was shown as the first example of what a seventh-generation game would look like.