As the first James Bond game in over a decade, 007 First Light has some huge expectations ahead of it. Developed by Hitman studio IO Interactive, the upcoming game has seen many describe it as Hitman with a James Bond skin.
As it turns out, that’s not quite the case, although there are moments where the Bond game turns more into a Hitman-like stealth experience. Speaking to Eurogamer, narrative and cinematic director Marin Emborg explained that the game is “kind of the reverse [Hitman] in many ways” with players having completely different goals to the hyper-focused killing of Agent 47.
‘”We’re actually very happy that ‘it’s not Hitman’ headlines are getting out there,” added senior combat designer Tom Marcham. “That’s important for us that you go in with the right expectations that this isn’t a Hitman game. It’s got some inspiration from it, it’s got a few mechanics, but it’s definitely a Bond game first and foremost.”
While 007 First Light is fundamentally not a Hitman game—after all, it does feature multiple full-fat shootouts and even driving sequences—it does undeniably share a lot its predecessors’ DNA. In Bond, you’ll be sneaking your way into secret spaces, interacting with similar scenarios, just without the goal of taking someone’s wife.
In the same interview, IO explains that the gameplay loop of Hitman for Agent 47 needed elevating for James Bond. “Hitman just walks in, changes outfits with someone, shoots someone in the head once and walks out,” Marcham continued. “It’s not Bond so we knew we had to elevate that.”
That’s why, in comparison to Hitman, James Bond has so many options. In a prior discussion, IO explained that much of Bond’s development has gone into bringing player choice to every action. Driving sequences will have multiple routes, cinematic shoot-outs will have many options, and the stealth-sections have a Hitman-amount of variation. It’s choice like this which had led the game to become IO’s most expensive game yet.
“That’s why we spent so much time on the combat, to make sure that when we do go full guns blazing and everything goes crazy, that it is just as rich of an experience as you’d expect – you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything,” Marcham continued.
Marcham explained that 007 First Light is more “forward facing” compared to Hitman. Entering a new environment in Hitman is full of “uncertainty”, which the team wanted to streamline for Bond. This means the team could focus on “more involved combat”, allowing Bond to cinematically grab nearby objects during fistfights without ruining the flow of a level. After all, everyone who’s entered full combat in a Hitman game knows the doom that often spells.
Nevertheless, 007 First Light isn’t an extremely casual game. IO explains that there’s “some pretty extreme challenges in our difficulty settings”, allowing long-term stealth players to crank up the challenge. Despite that, the upcoming James Bond game doesn’t have the same level of baseline challenge as Hitman. After all, it’s not Hitman.
As the studio’s first attempt at expanding the identity of James Bond into the container of video games, IO Interactive is hoping that this title won’t be the end of their 007 adventures. The studio has already expressed a desire to make a sequel at some point in the future, all while teasing plans for their next Hitman title. Additionally, the developer’s secretive Project Fantasy is also in deep development at the studio.
007 First Light releases on May 27, 2026. The game’s Nintendo Switch 2 port has been delayed to later this Summer as the team needs “more time” for optimisation on that platform.
