We had a big few showcases these past few days. I’m sure most of you tuned into Summer Game Fest, the show that essentially took over E3. One of the games that had its first big reveal was IO Interactive’s 007 First Light. The studio unveiled that they had been working on a 007 game for a while; it was just now fans were given their first real look at the title.
007 First Light is going to offer a new spy experience, one that will be different than Hitman. While IO Interactive knows how to bring out a stealth and calculated gameplay experience with Agent 47, James Bond is an entirely different character. Rather than looking at every little piece of the puzzle, James Bond is known to act more on impulse. So, we’re expecting some loud and action-packed moments.
We’ve only just received our first big reveal of the game, so there are bound to be a few features that were tucked away to be shared at a later date. GamesRadar had the chance to speak with the 007 franchise director at IO Interactive, Jonathan Lacaille. During the conversation, it was revealed that the developers want to avoid simply delivering a game that is nonstop shooting.
We are leaning a lot on what IOI does best, but we had to come up with a lot of new things that IOI had to learn and to reiterate on to really bring the full Bond experience. For instance, driving, not done that before, and we’re doing that now.
Shooting usually was a failing condition in Hitman, and here it’s a big part of the game. We don’t want the game to just go by shooting and shooting and shooting. So we want to give the player a lot of tools to feel as smart as Bond in the game. – Jonathan Lacaille
So, it seems that there are far more tricks up James Bond’s sleeves. You might not get the full Hitman experience with this game, but it seems there will be some elements of it here. Just what some of these spy gadgets will be offered to players is a mystery. Fortunately, we also learned today that the Hitman series is far from being over with. So, if you’re more fond of playing as Agent 47, you’ll still find new games coming eventually.
As for when you can get your hands on 007 First Light, the game doesn’t have a specific release date yet. Instead, it’s only expected to land in the marketplace in 2026. When it does arrive, you should be able to find it on the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms.
