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After Reading 007 First Light Exec's Pitch To Amazon, I'm Even More Excited For The New James Bond Game

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4 days ago

6th July 2025

The 007 First Light pitch made by IO Interactive’s executive to Amazon MGM (which is the custodian of the James Bond franchise) has made me even more excited to play the upcoming game set in the classic franchise, even more than I already was. The new title was just recently announced during PlayStation’s State of Play event in early June. The game will offer a brand-new look at the most famous secret agent on the planet, showing off the youngest version of James Bond that has ever been seen. As expected from his age, this will be an origin story.

The title will be an action-adventure game that tells a brand-new story, though it will still draw inspiration from the novels and movies that built the iconic character over the decades. The origin story in 007 First Light will portray a young 26-year-old James Bond as he tries to accomplish a special mission that will then grant him his 00 status and, subsequently, his license to kill. The game does not yet have a definitive release date, but it’s planned to arrive for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC at some point in 2026.

007 First Light Isn’t Just A Shooter

The Game Will Offer A “Bond 360-Degree Experience”

A lot of promotional information about the game has been revealed, such as 007 First Light’s callback to Casino Royale, but more details are arising as the release gets closer. According to developer IO Interactive’s CCO Christian Elverdam in an interview with Newsweek, the title isn’t a shooter at its essence, despite having firearm-based combat in its gameplay. Elverdam mentions that the pitch made to Amazon consisted of showing the company “how Hitman plays as everything but a shooter,” reinforcing that you can complete missions without shooting – and that the new James Bond game would take a similar approach.

If You Can’t Wait For 007 First Light, There’s One Stealth Game You Have To Try This Summer

While there are plenty of 007 games to replay, one upcoming game has everything you need for a classic Bond adventure to rival First Light’s story.

Still, according to Elverdam, 007 First Light “is a Bond 360-degree experience,” meaning that the game will have shooting, of course, but also feature melee combat and a fluent transition between both gameplay styles. Furthermore, the game will have many other types of elements applied to gameplay, including the usage of special gadgets and, obviously, vehicles. James Bond is known for his versatility, so firearms are only a part of the breadth of his arsenal and gear. Based on the interview, it seems like this will be acknowledged and put into the upcoming game in 2026.

The New James Bond Game Is Learning The Best Lessons From Hitman

The Differences From IO Interactive’s Franchise Should Also Help 007 First Light

While Elverdam draws solid lines that keep 007 First Light away from Hitman, there is some correlation between the upcoming title and IO Interactive’s most popular franchise, and that is excellent. Based on the interview, it seems like the next James Bond game is learning the best lessons from Hitman, both in what to add and what not to incorporate into it. The first and, possibly, the best reason is that 007 First Light, like the Hitman games, will not be a shooter. While there will be firearm gameplay, Elverdam mentions that the game will have an auto-aim feature.

007 First Light Dev – Multiplayer “Wasn’t In The Conversation At All,” As They Wanted To Wholly Focus On A Narrative Experience

While many past Bond games have had multiplayer as an expectation, IO Interactive is going in a different direction with their game 007 First Light

The idea behind this decision is to make the gameplay revolve around fun rather than mastering mechanics. This makes sense, after all, James Bond is a skilled marksman, so you won’t have to worry about getting better at shooting because the secret agent is already excellent at it. When it comes to melee gameplay, Elverdam promises more depth, explaining that, unlike Hitman, it will feel less like button-mashing. Even so, James Bond’s goal in 007 First Light isn’t to necessarily commit assassinations like Agent 47, so you can expect a lot more from gameplay.

One of the teased features from the initial trailer is being able to pickpocket people, as evidenced by Gamesweek.

An interesting point of contrast lifted during the interview is that the upcoming game will be a lot more character-driven, whereas the Hitman games tend to be goal-oriented. Despite being stated to justify the smaller and more straightforward maps when compared to Hitman, this will also likely make sense when applied to gameplay. James Bond won’t simply ping across various large maps to assassinate, but instead, have different goals depending on the progress of the mission. This should enable several different features in 007 First Light.

A Variety Of Gameplay Should Help 007 First Light

James Bond Does More Than Assassinate Targets, Justifying The Lack Of Focus On The Shooter Genre

Overall, I believe that the greater variety of gameplay options will help the next James Bond title. Not only should the gameplay avoid the feeling of repetition, but it will also make a lot of sense for its lead character. Surely, Bond often has to eliminate targets and fight his way out of perilous situations, but many of his goals see him meddling with investigation, subterfuge, infiltration, and extraction of evidence. As such, it shouldn’t be too rare to see him in a mission where he can’t eliminate anyone, even if this makes 007 First Light a little less evil.

Daniel Craig as Bond in No Time to Die behind the 007 First Light Bond

007 First Light Could Do One Thing The Daniel Craig Bond Movies Never Did

Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond covered a lot of ground, but it refused to go in one direction that could be perfect for 007 First Light.

It makes perfect sense for the game not to revolve exclusively around the shooter genre, as James Bond’s stories have a lot more to offer, and that can easily be translated into gameplay. It’s great to know how the game will take examples from Hitman, but, most importantly, how it will also stand apart from Agent 47’s franchise. I was already excited about 007 First Light, but the pitch to Amazon has really caught my attention.

Source: Newsweek