007 First Light
Developer IO Interactive[a]
Publisher IO Interactive
Directors
  • Hakan Abrak
  • Martin Emborg
Producers
  • Markus Friedl
  • Céline Gil
  • Jack Bowman
Programmer Andres Alonso
Artist Rasmus Poulsen
Writer Michael Vogt
Composer The Flight
Series James Bond
Engine Glacier
Platforms
  • PlayStation 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X/S
  • Nintendo Switch 2
Release
  • PS5, Win, Xbox Series X/S
  • 27 May 2026
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Q3 2026
Genre Action-adventure
Mode Single-player

007 First Light is a 2026 action-adventure video game developed and published by IO Interactive. Based on the James Bond franchise, it tells an original narrative inspired by the novels and short stories by Ian Fleming, and the film series starring the character. The game depicts James Bond's origin story, as he embarks on the mission he must complete to earn his licence to kill.

Following the release of 007 Legends (2012), publisher Activision had its non-exclusive licence to produce James Bond video games revoked, resulting in an extended hiatus for video games adapting the franchise. IO Interactive announced the development of a new James Bond game in November 2020. The game entered full production at IO Interactive following the completion of Hitman 3 (2021), and was fully revealed in June 2025.

007 First Light was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S[1] on 27 May 2026.[2] The game received positive reviews from critics, with praise given to the gameplay, combat, writing, and Patrick Gibson's performance as Bond. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is scheduled to release later in the year.

Story

Setting and characters

007 First Light depicts an original narrative that draws inspiration from the novels and short stories by Ian Fleming and the long-running film franchise featuring the character.[3] Described as an origin story for the character,[4] the game follows a young James Bond (Patrick Gibson),[1] who is portrayed as a 26-year-old,[5] inexperienced MI6 agent, who is tasked with a mission that, when completed successfully, will grant him his 00 status.[6][7][8]

The story also features new iterations of well-known Bond characters such as M (Priyanga Burford)[b], Q (Alastair Mackenzie), and Miss Moneypenny (Kiera Lester), re-imagined to reflect their roles in shaping Bond's early career. The game also features original characters, such as Bond's reluctant MI6 mentor John Greenway (Lennie James), Bond girl and thief Isola Vale (Noémie Nakai),[1][5] psychology and game theory expert Selina Tan (Gemma Chan)[9], flamboyant arms dealer Bawma (Lenny Kravitz), Bond's training colleagues Cressida Bright (Jessica Rhodes) and Lennox Monroe (Chris O'Reilly), and Bond villains Sir Nicholas Webb (Anthony Howell) and his son, Damien (Bart Edwards).

Plot

During a Special Air Service (SAS) retrieval operation in Iceland, both SAS helicopters are shot down along with their teams, leaving Royal Navy Aircrewman James Bond as the sole survivor. Contacted by MI6, Bond heads to the original target - a research camp studying a crashed satellite - only to find it occupied by terrorist mercenaries known as the Arrowhead. Defying direct orders, Bond rescues the captive scientists and destroys the camp, preventing any evidence from being taken away.

The next month, Bond is recruited by "M" to join the revitalized "00" program, which he starts training six months behind the other candidates. He overcomes the exams under the strict regimen of his handler, John Greenway, and befriends his team, especially Monroe and Cressida. As they celebrate their graduation, their training is suspended by M, who reassigns them to track down former 009 and rogue agent Rhys Beckett in a luxury hotel in Slovakia. Bond follows a suspicious staff member revealed to be one of Beckett's supposed assassins, the Murto twins, who have killed Monroe and planted a bomb which kills two more of the team and leaves Cressida paralyzed. Bond chases Beckett to his plane and attaches his watch to it, allowing MI6 to track Beckett to Mauritania.

Bond is sent with Greenway to root out and capture Beckett, but discovers Beckett has been killed. Despite the newfound evidence, M declares Beckett as the culprit and closes the case. Returning home to rest, Bond is suddenly attacked by one of the Murto twins. Bond tracks him down and kills him at a ceremonial gala hosted by AI pioneer Sir Nicholas Webb, where he finds incriminating evidence linking Webb to the terrorist act in Slovakia and learns Greenway is also a target.

Captured by Webb's son Damien, Bond is rescued by the same woman he first met in Slovakia, learning she is a professional thief named Isola Vale. Greenway fights off the assassins sent after him, and both he and Bond infiltrate the Webb Industries building in search of evidence. They discover Webb's terrorist actions are actually cover-up operations to mistakes being committed by his quantum computing supercomputer named THEIA - currently employed by MI6. THEIA's first mistake was erroneously declaring Beckett and two other agents as moles within the agency, upon which Greenway was sent to eliminate them. Beckett was murdered by Webb so he couldn't expose THEIA's flaws. Shocked by the revelation, Greenway parts ways with Bond.

Despite being under orders to bring both agents in for terrorism charges, M sends Bond to a luxury resort in Vietnam to gather evidence on Webb's duplicity. Tracking down biologist Theresa Lorca, Bond intercepts the other Murto twin who attempts to kill Lorca via arson, killing him instead, but he's captured again by Damien. Rescued by Greenway, Bond tracks down Damien and supposedly kills him despite being overpowered, but Greenway is fatally wounded in the pursuit. In his final moments, Greenway admits Bond is what MI6 needs and that his heroic nature is what defines him.

Webb leaks vital MI6 information, coercing M into giving him full immunity. Unwilling to accept this result, Bond goes renegade and teams up with Isola to infiltrate Webb's research facility in Antarctica, where he uncovers a scheme by Webb to supplant the entire British government via THEIA's sibling AI, HYPERION. Bond fights through both security, prototype robots and Webb himself to reach the HYPERION core, but Isola fatally shoots Webb and steals the core for herself. Bond gives chase and manages to stop Isola and destroy the core. In London, both Bond and Isola are locked up, but are released when the building is attacked by mercenaries led by a still alive Damien. Isola takes the opportunity to flee while Bond chooses to stay, heading down to THEIA's chamber where Damien stabs Moneypenny and takes THEIA's core. Bond overpowers and disables Damien's exo-suit, allowing him to finally kill Damien by drowning. Bond almost drowns as well, before he's rescued by Isola, who takes THEIA's core and escapes.

In the aftermath, while visiting Greenway's grave, Bond is inducted into the "00" program and cleared of all charges, self-designating himself as 007. Bond himself vows to track Isola down to recover the THEIA core and find out who she's working for.

Development

007 First Light is the first major game featuring James Bond following a long hiatus resulting from the critical and commercial failure of 007 Legends (2012), which saw publisher Activision having its non-exclusive licence to produce video games using the James Bond IP revoked by Eon Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in January 2013.[10][11]

Hitman series developer IO Interactive met with Eon Productions to pitch their own vision for a James Bond video game as they were developing Hitman 3 (2021). According to company president Hakan Abrak, the studio was under the impression that "[Eon] were not looking for a game", having grown dissatisfied with the action-oriented style and gameplay of the latest console Bond games under Activision.[12] Chief creative officer Christian Elverdam stated that a move away from relying on weapons to complete missions was an integral part of the studio's pitch to Eon, citing their work on Hitman as a game where violent solutions were actively discouraged, as an example of how Eon were convinced by IO Interactive that there was a "sophistication" in how the developers approached espionage gameplay.[13]

IO Interactive also emphasised its interest in pursuing an original interpretation of James Bond, divorced from any of the prior literary and cinematic incarnations of the character, as they wished to apply a similar effort to creating their own narrative for an existing IP as they did for any of their original projects and characters.[14] This includes the likeness of James Bond himself, which is not derived from any of the actors to portray him on film, a first for the character in a playable capacity since James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (2001).[15]

Elverdam was also excited at the prospect of having a version of James Bond produced from the ground up for gaming, remarking on how it removed expectations that their version of the character would have to adhere to characteristics of pre-existing iterations while also being a take on the property "gamers can call their own". He additionally recalled a trip the development team made to Pinewood Studios during production of the film No Time to Die (2021), which instilled the "gravity" of taking on the Bond licence.[16] According to Abrak, the idea of depicting James Bond's origin and efforts to claim his licence to kill, an event only definitively and briefly portrayed in the opening of the Daniel Craig film Casino Royale (2006), was enthusiastically received between IO Interactive and Eon, who were both receptive to the idea of a narrative that is "completely beginning and becoming a story" as opposed to directly adapting the plot of an existing Bond film.[17] The game's art director, Rasmus Poulsen, stated that the team sought to avoid portraying certain aspects of the character that were deemed outdated, and in particular, attitudes towards women seen expressed by Bond in previous series entries that the developers believed would be considered sexist by current audiences.[18]

IO Interactive added a new proprietary volumetric smoke system to its Glacier engine for 007 First Light, which it claims "has not been done anywhere before". The game also incorporates ray tracing and "fully dynamic" global illumination in its lighting model.[19]

Gameplay development

IO Interactive took inspiration from the freeflow combat system in the Batman: Arkham series and the large action setpieces and destructible environments seen in the Uncharted series. Combat in the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy was a last resort rather than a truly viable option. IO Interactive sought to design a combat system with 007 First Light that flows seamlessly into cinematic setpieces.[20] IO Interactive still wanted to maintain the Hitman series' freedom of choice in gameplay but wanted to avoid creating a reskin of Hitman.[21] 007 First Light emphasises greater forward momentum for the player's gameplay style whether that be in stealth or open combat compared to the slower, more deliberative, puzzle-like approach of Hitman where assassinations required setup.[22] Unlike Hitman, "you're playing as a spy, not an assassin" according to IO Interactive which puts greater emphasis on infiltration, investigation and eavesdropping on clues.[23]

007 First Light is the first IO Interactive title to include drivable vehicles.[24] Art director Rasmus Poulsen described the inclusion of controllable vehicles as a "huge challenge" that the studio had to take on.[25] The studio had to "bring onto the team specific driving expertise" in order to better incorporate such mechanics.[26]

Character development

Patrick Gibson portrays a young James Bond in 007 First Light.

As no actor had been cast to replace Daniel Craig in the Bond role for the 26th film, IO Interactive felt a sense of freedom in crafting their own version of James Bond that did not have be based on an existing Bond actor or to be a video game adaptation of the films. IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak said, "I don't think we would have necessarily had the same energy and the same vision and the same results if we were to do a gamification of a movie."[27] The last Bond video game, 007 Legends (2012), included an adaptation of one film from every Bond actor and heavily incorporated elements to coincide with the release of Skyfall (2012) while using Craig's likeness for Bond.

In creating their version of Bond, IO Interactive sought to create something new and unique while still honouring the character's iconic legacy. 007 First Light follows a 26-year-old James Bond as a recruit in the MI6 training program. Irish actor Patrick Gibson was cast as Bond. Gibson said he was "pretty stunned" after learning he had been cast.[28] Narrative and cinematic director Martin Emborg said that Gibson had a level of "built-in impatience" that was "perfect" for a young James Bond.[29] Emborg wanted the young Bond to exhibit "an unearned confidence" that he hoped players would read as a glaring naivety from "a reckless young man".[30] Senior combat designer Tom Marcham wanted the game's combat to exhibit the character's "inner rage" from his childhood experiences as an orphan.[30]

When developing the characters surrounding Bond, IO Interactive paid mind to how they influence Bond's personality and mannerisms as he grows into a skilled MI6 agent.[31] Emborg said that they imbued surrounding characters like M and Moneypenny with "some of those qualities that you know from Bond, and so that they can inform the character". Moneypenny plays a more active role in 007 First Light as a field analyst who assists Bond in the field rather than simply being M's secretary as in the original stories.[31] The character played a similar role in the field during Skyfall's prologue sequence. Moneypenny is voiced by Kiera Lester. With the exception of Judi Dench, M is typically portrayed by an older male actor, inspired by Fleming's own superior officer at the Naval Intelligence Division. Priyanga Burford's version of M in 007 First Light is younger than previous iterations of the character and actively supports and encourages Bond's growth as an agent rather than clashing with him as in previous depictions. John Greenway, portrayed by Lennie James, is an original character created for the game and a senior MI6 field agent who mentors Bond. Q is portrayed as older than the previous iteration of the character by Ben Whishaw in the Craig films, though not as old as Desmond Llewelyn or John Cleese. Actor Alastair Mackenzie played Q as more befitting the "cool uncle figure" he viewed the character as when growing up.[32]

Brand integration

007 First Light features a new Omega Seamaster chronograph watch specially designed for the game,[33][34] alongside the upcoming Aston Martin Valhalla.[35] Both brands featured heavily in the film series, and the gameplay trailer indicates they have been modified for use as Q 'gadgets'.

Music

Lana Del Rey sings the game's theme song, "First Light".

The musical score for 007 First Light was composed by The Flight. IO Interactive felt that they were the right choice to score a younger Bond as they could blend cinematic orchestral music with more modern electronic textures that had not been heard in the Bond franchise before. While classic John Barry themes feature, audio director Dominic Vega said that the young Bond has to "earn his themes" as he grows throughout the game's story.[36]

In October 2025, reports emerged that a song called "First Light" by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey was registered with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).[37] On 16 April 2026, "First Light" was revealed as the game's theme song and was produced by James Bond film composer David Arnold, marking his first contribution to the franchise since the Daniel Craig installment Quantum of Solace (2008).[38][39] Del Rey had previously submitted the song "24" for Craig's film Spectre (2015), which was rejected: Del Rey instead included the song on her fourth album, Honeymoon (2015).[40] Polygon wrote that Del Rey's "First Light" is "fully committed to the storied legacy of Bond themes, even to a fault" with its jangling guitar and orchestral swells.[41]

Release

IO Interactive held a livestream on 19 November 2020 to announce their next game following the then-upcoming Hitman 3 (2021),[42] which concluded with the reveal of Project 007, a new James Bond video game with an original story developed and published by IOI, in collaboration with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon Productions.[43] The announcement coincided with the official start of development at IOI's Denmark and Sweden studios.[44] The game is being developed on the Glacier Engine for "modern systems and platforms".[45] In February 2025, Amazon MGM Studios took over supervisory duties on the title after acquiring full creative and production rights to the James Bond IP from Eon and former film franchise producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, making it the first Bond game to be released since Eon's departure from the series.[46][47] The game was confirmed to be launching on Nintendo Switch 2 during the April 2025 instalment of Nintendo Direct.[48]

The game was formally unveiled as 007 First Light on 2 June 2025, with the game's first trailer premiering at Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play presentation on 4 June, and the title later appearing during the publisher's IOI Showcase digital presentation on 6 June.[49][50] SIE hosted a dedicated State of Play presentation on 3 September 2025 that unveiled gameplay and narrative details,[51][52] as well as the cast.[1] On 24 September, it was announced at Tokyo Game Show that Gemma Chan will play as Dr. Selina Tan, an original character created by IOI.[53] On 11 December, it was announced at The Game Awards 2025 that Lenny Kravitz will portray the antagonist Bawma.[54]

The game was originally announced to be released for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 27 March 2026.[1][55] In December 2025, the release date was delayed to 27 May 2026.[56] In April 2026, the Nintendo Switch 2 version was delayed to Q3 2026.[57] IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak stated that the developers pushed it to later in the summer season to allow more work on optimization, but that they were working to get it ready due to the legacy of Bond games on Nintendo platforms.[58]

Promotion

IO Interactive partnered with Coca-Cola for promotion of 007 First Light with themed cans of Zero Sugar Zero Caffeine offering competition prizes, including in-game outfits for Bond and a one-of-a-kind 007 First Light-themed Xbox Series X.[59] From 14 May to 10 June 2026, a free copy of 007 First Light is bundled with the purchase of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series graphics card.[60]

Reception

007 First Light received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[61][62][63]

Writing for Eurogamer, Rick Lane felt that 007 First Light "isn't the Bond game that I wanted from IO Interactive... [b]ut I had a great time with it regardless". He especially praised the game's writing, noting that "almost every line lands with wit, soul, or both", and describing it as the most well-written AAA game since Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Lane lavished Bond's characterization, noting how the "younger and more unrefined" Bond present in the game was also "perhaps the most empathetic Bond yet", but felt that "the real surprise in First Light is how strong the secondary cast is", praising the variety of the game's original characters. Regarding the gameplay, Lane noted that 007 First Light is largely a linear action-adventure game, but "frequently pretends that it isn't". He felt that the game occasionally pretended to open up and provide the player with a number of possible solutions, but ultimately funnelled them towards a specific intended path. However, he praised the game's close-quarters combat, as well as its "bluffing" mechanic, which he saw as a novel addition. Lane noted that despite what he felt were immensely enjoyable levels, many of them existed not as distinct locations, but as "spaces that Bond is just passing through on the way to his next objective", hurting their memorability.[65]

Mark Delaney of GameSpot very directly compared 007 First Light to the Hitman franchise, also developed by IO Interactive. He specifically called out the frequency of needing to distract or otherwise sneak past guards, hanging from ledges or pipes, eavesdropping on conversations, and lying to enemies, all of which he noted were staples of Hitman. Delaney lavished the game's hand-to-hand combat systems, especially praising the interactivity of the environment in combat. He also praised the gunplay, noting how guns "never have much ammo with them", which requires the player to "frequently change what [they're] armed with by taking them off defeated enemies". Delaney additionally praised how well he felt the franchise's tropes fit into the structure of a video game, noting the versatility of gadgets that helped "ensure the spirit of the Bond character is alive". However, he criticized the pacing, feeling that 007 First Light's 20-hour runtime resulted in some sections that were significantly slower than others.[66]

Future

IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak expressed in an interview with IGN that he wished for 007 First Light to lead into a potential trilogy of James Bond video games for the publisher, citing the decision to create a new, younger version of the character for gaming audiences to "call their own and grow with".[73] Abrak previously stated his desire to progress the James Bond narrative through "multiple" games in a similar fashion to IO's Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy (2016–2021), stating that such an ambition motivated them to pursue a licencing deal after previously rejecting offers for other video games using external properties.[74]

Notes

  1. ^ Additional development by Delphi Interactive
  2. ^ Burford previously played a MI6 scientist in the Bond film No Time to Die.
  3. ^ Based on 60 reviews

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Roskell, Yann (3 September 2025). "Watch over 30 minutes of 007 First Light gameplay, launching March 27, 2026". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  2. ^ Chalk, Andy (23 December 2025). "007 First Light, IO Interactive's James Bond game, is delayed 'to ensure the experience meets the level of quality you players deserve on day one'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  3. ^ Tassi, Paul (19 November 2020). "'Hitman' Developer Is Making 'Project 007,' A James Bond Origin Story". Forbes. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  4. ^ Romano, Sal (2 June 2025). "IO Interactive officially announces 007 First Light". Gematsu. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  5. ^ a b Jawad, Abdullah (7 June 2025). "007 First Light New Details: James Bond's Age, Origin Story, Inspiration, Classic Characters, and More". The Game Post. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  6. ^ Marnell, Blair (16 October 2024). "Next James Bond Game Will Focus On A "Young" Bond, Aims To Launch New Trilogy". GameSpot. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  7. ^ Briscuso, Lex (2 April 2025). "James Bond Origin Story Game Project 007 Officially Coming to Nintendo Switch 2". IGN. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  8. ^ "New James Bond Game 007 First Light: Everything We Know So Far, Including Reveal This Week". GameSpot. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  9. ^ Knight, Kyle (25 September 2025). "007 First Light Adds Gemma Chan to the Cast". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 25 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Activision loses James Bond licence?". Metro. 1 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  11. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (1 April 2013). "Activision 007 games pulled from digital stores". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 7 June 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  12. ^ Fillari, Alessandro (7 November 2023). "Before Project 007 was greenlit, the Hitman studio had to convince the James Bond rights-holders to give video game adaptations another shot: "They were not looking for a game"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 7 June 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  13. ^ Spencer, Alex (4 January 2024). "From Hitman to 007 and everything between – Edge magazine goes behind the scenes with IO Interactive". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 27 June 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  14. ^ Barnett, Brian (5 April 2021). "Hitman Dev's James Bond Game Is an Original Story Drawing From the Franchise's Entire History – IGN Unfiltered". IGN. Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  15. ^ Oloman, Jordan (26 January 2021). "Hitman Developer's James Bond Won't Be Based on Any Previous Actor". IGN. Archived from the original on 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  16. ^ Purchese, Robert (16 March 2023). "Hitman studio IO opens up a little about its James Bond 007 game". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 26 August 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  17. ^ Bailey, Kat (16 October 2024). "Project 007 Is a 'Young Bond for Gamers' and Hopefully the Start of a New Trilogy, IO Interactive Boss Says". IGN. Archived from the original on 1 September 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  18. ^ Addison, Luke (10 September 2025). "007 First Light Franchise Art Director Admits Steps Were Taken to Avoid Certain 'Traits' of Bond". Thumb Wars. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  19. ^ Omerovic, Semir (6 January 2026). "IO Interactive Reveals 007 First Light PC Features and System Specs". AltChar. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
  20. ^ Bonthuys, Darryn (23 February 2026). "007: First Light Aims To Channel Batman: Arkham Freeflow Combat With Uncharted Spectacle". GameSpot. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  21. ^ Ruiz, Fran (25 February 2026). "007: First Light gameplay director talks Uncharted and Batman: Arkham influences that add to IO's Hitman pedigree". Eurogamer. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  22. ^ Gerblick, Jordan (14 February 2026). "007: First Light will be less stealthy than Hitman because IO is pushing "forward momentum gameplay all the time"". GamesRadar+.
  23. ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (2 September 2025). "Watching A Behind-Closed-Doors Demo Of 007 First Light Quelled My Biggest Worry". Game Informer. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  24. ^ Shea, Brian (29 January 2026). "How 007 First Light Learns From And Moves Beyond Hitman". Game Informer. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  25. ^ Daniels, Joelle (4 September 2025). "007 First Light is Not a Reskin of Hitman – IO Interactive". GamingBolt. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  26. ^ Bailey, Dustin (3 September 2025). "007 First Light is "not a reskin" of Hitman, IO Interactive says again, and the team brought in "amazing fresh talent" including devs with "specific driving expertise" to help build car missions". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  27. ^ Shea, Brian (28 January 2026). "How IO Interactive Crafted Its Young Version Of James Bond". Game Informer. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  28. ^ Karunakar, Varun (16 May 2026). "007 First Light's James Bond Actor Was "Pretty Stunned" to Learn Of His Casting". GamingBolt. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  29. ^ Makuch, Eddie (29 January 2026). "Patrick Gibson's "Impatience" Made Him Perfect For Young James Bond In 007 First Light, Dev Says". GameSpot. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  30. ^ a b Purchese, Robert (14 May 2026). ""If we made a Bond where no one had any opinions on them, it would be the dullest Bond ever made" - 007: First Light studio reacts to suggestion its Bond is too smug". Eurogamer. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  31. ^ a b Zimmer, Evan (4 March 2026). "007 First Light Reveals New Details About Its Characters". Game Rant. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  32. ^ Sinha, Ravi (5 March 2026). "007 First Light Dev Diary Outlines the Cast, Including Alastair Mackenzie as Q". GamingBolt. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  33. ^ Austin, Tom (25 December 2025). "The most interesting Omega watch of 2025, that hasn't actually released… yet". Time+Tide. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  34. ^ Hart, Spencer (6 October 2025). "Omega drops a trailer for the next James Bond, and it's all about the watch". Stuff. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  35. ^ Cripe, Michael (20 November 2025). "James Bond Hops into a Souped-Up Aston Martin in Vehicle-Themed 007 First Light Trailer". IGN. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  36. ^ Donaldson, Alex (8 September 2025). "Developer IO Interactive on why Bond needs to "earn" his iconic theme music in 007: First Light". Eurogamer. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  37. ^ Koepp, Brent (20 October 2025). "007 First Light Theme Song Artist Reportedly Leaked". Vice. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  38. ^ Pinder, Jaeden (16 April 2026). "Lana Del Rey Drops Orchestral Title Song for '007 First Light' Video Game". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  39. ^ Romano, Nick (16 April 2026). "From 'Video Games' to video games, Lana Del Rey records new James Bond theme song for 007: First Light". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  40. ^ Pandey, Manish (16 April 2026). "Lana Del Rey to sing theme for new James Bond game". BBC News. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  41. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (16 April 2026). "Track review: Lana Del Rey's "First Light"". Polygon. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  42. ^ Chalk, Andy (18 November 2020). "Hitman studio IO Interactive will reveal a new project tomorrow morning". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  43. ^ Ruppert, Liana (19 November 2020). "IO Interactive's New Game Is A 007 James Bond Origins Story". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020.
  44. ^ "Announcing Project 007". IO Interactive. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  45. ^ Barker, Sammy (19 November 2020). "Project 007 Targeting Modern Systems, Will Run on Glacier Engine". Push Square. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  46. ^ Svetkey, Benjamin (7 March 2025). "License to Shill: Inside Amazon's 007 Takeover". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 7 March 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  47. ^ Zalben, Alex (21 February 2025). "The Bond Franchise Sale to Amazon MGM Is Probably Bad News... But Here Are Some Ways It Could Work". IGN. Archived from the original on 21 February 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  48. ^ Kennedy, Victoria (2 April 2025). "IOI's James Bond game confirmed for Switch 2". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  49. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (2 June 2025). "James Bond Game From Hitman Dev Has a New Title, 007 First Light, Official Reveal This Week". IGN. Archived from the original on 2 June 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  50. ^ Romano, Sal (2 June 2025). "IO Interactive Showcase set for June 6". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 3 June 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  51. ^ Roskell, Yann (1 September 2025). "State of Play presents 007 First Light gameplay deep dive on September 3". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  52. ^ Makuch, Eddie (3 September 2025). "Next PlayStation State Of Play Announced, Coming Very Soon". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  53. ^ Phillips, Tom (25 September 2025). "007 First Light Adds Marvel Star Gemma Chan to James Bond Game Cast". IGN. Archived from the original on 25 September 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  54. ^ Apsey, Echo (12 December 2025). "007 First Light confirms music icon for Bond villain role in much-anticipated video game". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  55. ^ Webster, Andrew (4 June 2025). "James Bond game 007 First Light gets first trailer". The Verge. Archived from the original on 4 June 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  56. ^ Peters, Jay (23 December 2025). "007 First Light's release date gets shaken up". The Verge. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  57. ^ Romano, Sal (8 April 2026). "007 First Light for Switch 2 delayed to "later this summer"". Gematsu. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  58. ^ Reynolds, Ollie (5 May 2026). ""I Will Do Everything I Can" - IO Interactive Boss Promises 007 First Light Won't Pull A Borderlands 4". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  59. ^ "Zero Caffeine, Anytime Refreshment, Epic Prizes". Coca-Cola. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  60. ^ Andreadis, Kosta. "New GeForce Bundle offers 007 First Light with new GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs and systems". TweakTown. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  61. ^ a b "007 First Light for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  62. ^ a b "007 First Light for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  63. ^ a b "007 First Light for Xbox Series X/S Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  64. ^ "007 First Light". OpenCritic. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  65. ^ a b Lane, Rick (26 May 2026). "007 First Light review - a narrative tour-de-fource, though one lacking the replayability of Hitman's fathomless sandboxes". Eurogamer. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  66. ^ a b Delaney, Mark (26 May 2026). "007 First Light Review – Youth In Revolt". GameSpot. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  67. ^ West, Josh (26 May 2026). "007 First Light review: "Bond's greatest game to date, this is a well-oiled spy thriller machine"". GamesRadar. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  68. ^ Kelly, Paul (26 May 2026). "007 First Light review - IO Interactive's Hitman formula fits Bond like a glove". PCGamesN. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  69. ^ Erskine, Donovan (26 May 2026). "007 First Light review: Tomorrow Never Dies". Shacknews. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  70. ^ Schwanke, Amelia (26 May 2026). "007 First Light delivers a blockbuster Bond origin story packed with spycraft, stealth and explosive action set pieces". TechRadar. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  71. ^ Castle, Matthew (26 May 2026). "007 First Light review – a triumphant James Bond game made by obsessive fans". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  72. ^ Middler, Jordan (26 May 2026). "007 First Light review: IO nails the James Bond fantasy with a globetrotting epic". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  73. ^ Tailby, Stephen (17 October 2024). "IO Interactive's Project 007 to Feature a 'Young Bond for Gamers' with a View to a Trilogy". Push Square. Archived from the original on 21 October 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  74. ^ Stanton, Rich (9 November 2023). "IO got the 007 license because it wants to make 'multiple Bond games' in the same way it handled Hitman". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2025.