007 First Light: How IO Interactive Is Bringing James Bond Back to Video Games

It’s been over a decade since James Bond last starred in a full video game, with the most recent release being 2012’s widely maligned 007 Legends, itself both a 50th anniversary celebration of the film series and a tie-in to that year’s Skyfall. Fortunately, Danish video game publisher IO Interactive has been hard at work on a new Bond game for years, originally announced in 2020 under the working title Project 007 before it was formally unveiled as 007 First Light in June 2025. After sharing a trailer as part of Sony’s PlayStation State of Play, IOI held a special showcase event in association with Summer Game Fest 2025, which included a panel with the game’s developers.

The trailer and developers confirm that this Bond game isn’t based on any existing movie or novel by creator Ian Fleming, but is rather providing the franchise with a fresh and modern origin story for the British super-spy. As such, this is a younger Bond still in his 20s, fresh out of serving in the British Royal Navy, with a reputation for getting the job done as much as he does defying his superior officers. Matching Fleming’s literary description of the character, this Bond is tall, dark-haired, and with a visible scar down the right side of his face.

IOI CEO and co-owner Hakan Abrak described 007 First Light as “just the beginning of our journey with 007,” hinting that the upcoming game is the inaugural installment in a line of titles starring the secret agent. In addition to the trailer and panel discussion highlighting a Bond not based on the likeness of any pre-existing depiction, First Light also features its own original takes on franchise mainstays including M, Q, and Moneypenny, as well a new character, John Greenway, played by British actor Lennie James from The Walking Dead and Blade Runner 2049. The trailer alludes to Greenway taking on a mentorship and handler role for the fledgling 007, not only working directly with M on Bond’s MI6 development, but actively operating in the field alongside the young operative.

Though 007 First Light is developed with IOI’s proprietary Glacier Engine, which it previously used with its Hitman games, the developer is careful to distinguish the gameplay from those players are familiar with starring Hitman’s Agent 47. Bond can take a multifaceted approach in resolving missions in First Light but, at least judging by the footage seen so far, there is a greater emphasis on action than with the more stealth-oriented Hitman. During the IOI Showcase panel, franchise director Jonathan Lacaille pointed out that the game was not intended to feel like a Hitman game that simply featured a protagonist swap for James Bond, but rather its own unique gameplay experience and take on the iconic franchise.

Based on comments from the developers and the footage seen in the reveal trailer, it’s still unclear who the opposition that Bond and MI6 are confronting throughout the game or where Bond is being dispatched, though portions of the trailer feature a tropical coastal setting. In the snippets of gameplay footage seen, Bond takes cover, quickly snapping to aim at targets with his pistol while on a training exercise, while another sequence has him using hand-to-hand combat to subdue his enemies. Given IOI’s prior games, this change in perspective certainly leans into its strengths, though this also marks 007 First Light as the first Bond game primarily unfolding from a third-person perspective since 2010’s James Bond 007: Blood Stone published by Activision.

One of the unaddressed elephants in the room is that 007 First Light is being developed in the midst of the cinematic division of the franchise being at a major crossroads. In March 2025, Amazon MGM Studios gained full creative control of the franchise from its longtime caretakers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, through their studio Eon Productions. This behind-the-scenes shuffle is a significant one, though IOI is developing and publishing the game under license from Amazon MGM Studios and Eon Productions, with the developers not commenting on any impact this change may have had on the game – in all fairness, First Light was under development for years before this creative shake-up occurred.

With the cinematic future of Bond still uncertain, 007 First Light offers the first significant release for the franchise since 2021’s No Time to Die as IOI carries it into a decidedly post-Daniel Craig era. It’s been 24 years since a Bond game was published without any discernible link to the film series, either through a movie tie-in or likeness of an established Bond actor, so First Light has plenty of creative room to breathe. And judging by this first look and IO Interactive’s stellar track record with its Hitman games, James Bond appears to be in good hands on the video game side of things with a solid creative partnership for the foreseeable future.

007 First Light will be released in 2026 for the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

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