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007 First Light

007 First Light is a single-player James Bond action-adventure developed and published by the Danish studio IO Interactive, an original origin story in which a young Bond is recruited into MI6's revived 00 program.[^37][^6] It came out on May 27, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and the Nintendo Switch 2 version is dated Mar 18, 2027.[^18][^33] It sold more than 1.5 million copies in its first 24 hours, the fastest launch in the studio's history, and 4 million in its first three months.[^20][^26]

Stealth and combat in the gameplay reveal From the official gameplay reveal of Sep 3, 2025: in its closing section on stealth and combat, footage shows young Bond working through a mission with his Q Branch tools, choosing when to stay hidden and when to fight.

Developer and publisher
IO Interactive (Copenhagen, Denmark)[1][36]
Released
May 27, 2026 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC); Nintendo Switch 2 on Mar 18, 2027[18][33]
Genre
Single-player third-person action-adventure with stealth[37][3]
Engine
Glacier, IO Interactive's own[2][36]
Lead actor
Patrick Gibson as James Bond[19]
Copies sold
4 million in its first three months (IO Interactive, Aug 20, 2026)[26]
OpenCritic
Top Critic Average 87, 97% of critics recommend (Nov 7, 2026)[16]
Standard price
$69.99[10]

Overview

007 First Light is a third-person spy game in which the player controls James Bond before he becomes a 00 agent.[37] IO Interactive, the Copenhagen studio behind the Hitman series, made and published it on its own Glacier engine.[36][1] The studio describes the game as an original origin story rather than an adaptation of any film or novel.[7][2] According to Insider Gaming, IO Interactive and the rights holders chose to have it stand beside the future of the film series without a direct link to it.[11] It came out on May 27, 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, sold through Steam, the Epic Games Store and the Microsoft Store.[18][1] It is not part of Xbox Game Pass.[39] Since launch the game has been announced jointly by IO Interactive and Amazon MGM Studios, which owns the Bond film studio MGM.[30][22] Its story campaign is played alone, and a separate mode called TacSim adds replayable challenges with online leaderboards.[13][21]

Stealth and combat in the gameplay reveal From the official gameplay reveal of Sep 3, 2025: in its closing section on stealth and combat, footage shows young Bond working through a mission with his Q Branch tools, choosing when to stay hidden and when to fight.

Development

IO Interactive announced the game as Project 007 on Nov 19, 2020, working with MGM, EON Productions and Delphi.[2] The announcement promised an entirely original Bond story in which players would earn their 00 status, with development under way in the studio's Copenhagen and Malmö offices.[2] Its name, its gameplay and a release date of Mar 27, 2026 were revealed in a dedicated PlayStation State of Play on Sep 3, 2025, which showed about half an hour of a mission set around a chess tournament, a car chase and a fight aboard a cargo plane.[3][4] Franchise art director Rasmus Poulsen said the game carries a dry British humor throughout.[4] On Dec 23, 2025 the studio moved the release back two months, to May 27, 2026, saying the game was fully playable from start to finish and needed time for polish.[5] The 2020 announcement, which carried a statement from chief executive Hakan Abrak, had described it as the most ambitious game the studio had attempted.[2]

Story and setting

The game's Bond is 26 years old, a talented but headstrong Royal Navy air crewman whose actions in Iceland bring him to the attention of MI6.[6] He is recruited into a newly revived 00 program that values discipline over initiative, and he trains under John Greenway, a former 00 agent whose strict methods clash with Bond's improvising.[6] The central threat is 009, a former British operative who has gone rogue; his return becomes the program's first real test in the field and forces Bond and Greenway to work together.[6] Kotaku's review described a plot about Bond's training, his first missions and an argument over whether the 00 agents should exist at all.[14] The story moves through eight places listed by IO Interactive: Iceland, MI6 in London, Malta, a grand hotel in the Carpathian mountains of Slovakia, the black market of Aleph in Mauritania, Kensington, Vietnam and Antarctica.[37] The opening mission in Iceland is the part offered free as a starter pack since Nov 5, 2026.[35]

The Iceland opening IO Interactive's first 13 minutes of the game: the briefing for the opening mission in Iceland gives way to Bond's first infiltration.

Gameplay

IO Interactive calls its design the Creative Approach: each objective can be reached quietly, loudly or with a mix of the two.[3] Spycraft covers eavesdropping, lifting keycards and reading the surroundings for clues.[3] Instinct is a limited resource that refills as Bond defeats enemies and completes objectives, and it lets him lure a guard, bluff his way past a suspicious person or steady his aim.[3] Gadgets from Q Branch hack cameras, cut through locks and distract guards.[3] Combat mixes gunplay with close-quarters fighting, and Bond earns his license to kill when lethal force is used.[3] Game Rant summed the result up as Hitman meets Uncharted and found that being spotted is seldom fatal.[13] Hardcore Gamer judged the stealth shallower than in IO Interactive's Hitman games, noting that bodies cannot be hidden and that each objective offers only two or three routes.[15]

The developers on choosing an approach In the first Beyond the Light developer diary, IO Interactive's team explains the rules behind combat and shooting and how they fit the choice between stealth and open fighting.

Missions are large spaces with several ways in, but the story's outcomes are fixed, and driving comes in scripted chases rather than an open world.[14][15] Kotaku praised the open adventure sections for their busy settings and social puzzles but disliked how slowly Bond's tools unlock and the objective markers that steer the player.[14]

The rules of spycraft IO Interactive's Rules of Spycraft trailer shows how Bond moves through a level unseen, talks his way past guards and uses disguises.

Cast and music

Patrick Gibson plays Bond; his face was scanned into the game, and some of the cast performed with motion capture.[19] Lennie James plays John Greenway, Priyanga Burford plays M, Alastair Mackenzie plays Q and Kiera Lester plays Moneypenny.[4] Gemma Chan plays Selina Tan, MI6's head of tactical simulation and a character written for the game; Xbox Wire reported it was the first time she had lent her voice and likeness to a video game.[7] The singer Lenny Kravitz plays Bawma, and Noemie Nakai, Anthony Howell and Bart Edwards are among the rest of the credited cast, along with cameos by the streamers JackSepticEye and Shroud.[19] The title song, First Light, is sung by Lana Del Rey and was written by her with David Arnold, who scored five Bond films; it was released on Apr 16, 2026.[9] Its title sequence premiered the next day at the BAFTA Games Awards.[9]

Patrick Gibson on becoming Bond In IO Interactive's cast session, Patrick Gibson talks about taking on the role of a young James Bond for the game.

The title sequence The game's opening title sequence, set to Lana Del Rey's song First Light, in the style of the films' openings.

Release and editions

The Standard Edition costs $69.99, and the Collector's and Legacy Editions cost $199.99 and $299.99 with replica props, figurines and extra cosmetics.[10] Players who pre-ordered a digital edition received the Deluxe upgrade and 24 hours of early access, so the game first unlocked on May 26, 2026, the day reviews were published.[10][13] The Nintendo Switch 2 version was announced with the others but has been moved several times.[4] On Apr 8, 2026 it was split from the main launch and set for later in the summer.[8] On Sep 15, 2026 it was pushed to March 2027 so the studio could work on its performance.[28] On Oct 14, 2026 IO Interactive and Amazon MGM Studios dated it Mar 18, 2027, as a $69.99 Deluxe Edition with a GoldenEye Suit for pre-orders.[33] On Nov 5, 2026 the studio released a free starter pack with the Iceland mission on Steam and Xbox, with PlayStation to follow on Nov 10, alongside discounts of 40% on Steam and Xbox and 50% on PlayStation 5.[35]

Updates after launch

A year-one plan published on Jun 5, 2026 promised new TacSim content across the year, including returns to Kensington, Slovakia, Mauritania and a Vietnamese resort, and said New Game+ was being considered.[21] Update 1.1.0 on Jul 24, 2026 added two TacSim challenge sets, The Workshop and Extraction Avenues, four new rewards and fixes for more than 200 issues.[25] On Sep 15, 2026 a PC update added full path tracing and DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction on NVIDIA GeForce RTX hardware.[27] The largest addition so far, a free update called Extended Operations, arrived on Oct 1, 2026 as version 1.3.0.[30][31] It added New Game+, a hardest 00 difficulty unlocked by finishing the story, a Photo Mode, four Valhalla Protocol missions driving an armed Aston Martin Valhalla in Slovakia, a TacSim operation at a resort in Vietnam, a 60 frames per second mode on Xbox Series S and more than 700 fixes.[31] Hotfix 1.3.2 followed on Oct 29, 2026 with new outfits.[34] In August the studio said further story content would involve Mauritania, an alliance with Bawma and an unknown piece of technology; the game's official page listed no such update as of Nov 7, 2026.[26][37]

TacSim explained IGN's guide for new players explains TacSim, MI6's training simulation, where story spaces are replayed with modifiers and challenges for rewards.

Reception

Critics rated the game highly. As of Nov 7, 2026 it holds a Top Critic Average of 87 on OpenCritic from 196 reviews, with 97% of critics recommending it.[16] Metacritic gives it 88 on Xbox Series X, 87 on PlayStation 5 and 84 on PC.[18] IGN scored it 9 out of 10, GameSpot and Game Rant 8 out of 10, and PC Gamer 65 out of 100, the lowest among the large outlets.[17] Game Rant praised the cast, singling out Lennie James, along with the shootouts and the inventive use of gadgets, but found the slow information-gathering sections at the start of missions dull.[13] Kotaku called the pairing of Bond and Greenway the strongest part of the story while finding the wider plot weak and its tone uneven.[14] Players on Steam rated it Very Positive, with 90% of nearly 20,000 English-language reviews favorable as of Nov 7, 2026.[1] At the Golden Joystick Awards, decided on Nov 11, 2026, it has six nominations, among them Console Game of the Year and acting nominations for Patrick Gibson and Lennie James.[29]

IGN's verdict From IGN's video review, which scored the game 9 out of 10: the reviewer weighs the missions, the Bond feel and the game's weaker stretches.

Sales

IO Interactive reported more than 1.5 million copies sold across all platforms in the first 24 hours, the fastest launch in its history and ahead of its biggest Hitman games over the same period.[20] Sales passed 2.7 million in the first week and reached 4 million within three months, announced on Aug 20, 2026, when IO Interactive called it one of the fastest-selling games of 2026.[21][26] The studio has not said how sales divide between platforms, and it had published no newer total as of Nov 7, 2026.[26] On Oct 7, 2026 it reported more than 7 million wishlists across platforms.[32] On Steam, the game's highest number of players at the same time was 71,073, on May 31, 2026, its first weekend, as measured by SteamDB.[38]

Sequel and the rights question

No sequel had been announced as of Nov 7, 2026. Before launch, Abrak told The Game Business that if the game went well and players loved it, a follow-up was possible.[12] The question of who would make it became public after release. On Jun 4, 2026 Jeff Gattis of Amazon Games told Polygon that Amazon did not hold full rights to this game and that future Bond games would be made by MGM and, in theory, Amazon Game Studios; TheSixthAxis read this as a possible sequel without IO Interactive.[22] An Amazon spokesperson said Amazon MGM holds the rights to future Bond games, called its relationship with IO Interactive a great one and said it was too early to discuss new projects.[22] PCGamesN reported on Jun 9 that Gattis, asked by IGN whether the game's success meant a sequel, answered that it seemed one should be made.[23] On Jul 24, 2026 he said nothing had been confirmed about who would publish or develop the next game, adding that given the game's success, Amazon would probably want IO Interactive to develop it.[24] The studio's next announced game is its own, codenamed Project Fantasy.[36][32]

  1. IO Interactive announces Project 007 with MGM, EON Productions and Delphi.[2]
  2. A State of Play reveals 007 First Light and dates it for Mar 27, 2026.[3]
  3. The release moves to May 27, 2026.[5]
  4. The Switch 2 version is split from the main launch.[8]
  5. Lana Del Rey's title song First Light is released.[9]
  6. Reviews are published and digital pre-orders unlock 24 hours early.[13][10]
  7. The game launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.[18]
  8. IO Interactive reports more than 1.5 million copies sold in 24 hours.[20]
  9. Sales pass 2.7 million and the year-one roadmap is published.[21]
  10. Update 1.1.0 adds new TacSim content.[25]
  11. Sales reach 4 million.[26]
  12. Path tracing comes to PC and the Switch 2 version slips to March 2027.[27][28]
  13. The free Extended Operations update adds New Game+, the 00 difficulty and Photo Mode.[30]
  14. The Switch 2 version is dated Mar 18, 2027.[33]
  15. A free starter pack with the opening mission is released.[35]
  16. Planned release on Nintendo Switch 2.[33]

What we think

This section is Heartipedia’s own opinion, not sourced fact. Each view is reasoned from the facts cited above and from trends we see; it may turn out wrong. A prediction’s words are never changed once made: when the facts are known we add the result under it, right or wrong. Every prediction we have made.

The Bawma mission arrives free, before the Switch 2 version

We expect IO Interactive to release the story content it teased in August, the alliance with Bawma that follows events in Mauritania, as a free update and not as paid DLC. We think it comes out before the Nintendo Switch 2 version on Mar 18, 2027, or on that day, so the new version launches with it.

Why: IO Interactive's Aug 20, 2026 post promised a return to Mauritania's black market, an unexpected alliance between MI6 and Bawma, and a technology that could become one of Bond's deadliest opponents, and none of it was out by Nov 7, 2026. The studio's largest addition so far, Extended Operations, was free. A date ten months after launch on a new platform is the natural moment to have the whole first year's content in one game.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Mar 2027 Made

The game joins PlayStation Plus Extra or Game Pass

We expect IO Interactive's Bond game to be added to PlayStation Plus Extra or Xbox Game Pass before the end of 2027.

Why: The game was not on Game Pass at launch, but by November 2026 IO Interactive was already working to widen its audience: a free starter pack with the opening mission and discounts of 40% to 50%. Sales slowed from 2.7 million in the first week to about 1.3 million over the following eleven weeks. A subscription deal pays the publisher up front and brings in players for the free updates and a sequel.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Dec 2027 Made

Amazon names IO Interactive as the developer of a second Bond game

We expect a second Bond game from IO Interactive to be officially announced by the end of 2027, with Amazon MGM Studios as a partner. We think it continues the story of this young Bond rather than starting over with a new one.

Why: Amazon's Jeff Gattis said in June 2026 that a sequel seemed like it should be made, and in July that given the game's success Amazon would probably want IO Interactive to develop it. The game was the studio's fastest launch and reached 4 million copies in three months. The origin story sets up a recruit who has only just earned his number, which leaves the obvious next chapter open, and IO Interactive already has the cast, the Glacier tools and a TacSim mode it has kept extending.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Dec 2027 Made

Six million by the first anniversary

We expect IO Interactive to announce at least 6 million copies sold by the end of June 2027.

Why: The studio announced 1.5 million in a day, 2.7 million in a week and 4 million in three months, and has announced each milestone as it came. Since then it has added the free Extended Operations update, a free starter pack and deep discounts in November 2026, and the holiday season, the Switch 2 version and the first anniversary all fall before the end of June 2027.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Jul 2027 Made

Forgiving stealth was the right call for Bond

We think making the stealth forgiving, so that being spotted is rarely fatal and bodies cannot be hidden, was the right design for a Bond game, even though it costs the game the depth of IO Interactive's own Hitman. We think Bond is a spy who talks and bluffs his way out of trouble, not an assassin who leaves no trace, and the game plays best when it lets him do that.

Why: Game Rant found that getting caught is seldom a death sentence and called the game Hitman meets Uncharted, while Hardcore Gamer counted the missing bodies and the two or three routes per objective as signs of shallower stealth. Yet the Instinct meter lets Bond bluff past suspicious guards, critics gave the game an OpenCritic average of 87, and Steam players rated it 90% positive: the trade did not cost it its audience.

Opinion Made

Moments

  1. Stealth and combat in the gameplay reveal From the official gameplay reveal of Sep 3, 2025: in its closing section on stealth and combat, footage shows young Bond working through a mission with his Q Branch tools, choosing when to stay hidden and when to fight.
  2. The Iceland opening IO Interactive's first 13 minutes of the game: the briefing for the opening mission in Iceland gives way to Bond's first infiltration.
  3. The developers on choosing an approach In the first Beyond the Light developer diary, IO Interactive's team explains the rules behind combat and shooting and how they fit the choice between stealth and open fighting.
  4. The rules of spycraft IO Interactive's Rules of Spycraft trailer shows how Bond moves through a level unseen, talks his way past guards and uses disguises.
  5. Patrick Gibson on becoming Bond In IO Interactive's cast session, Patrick Gibson talks about taking on the role of a young James Bond for the game.
  6. The title sequence The game's opening title sequence, set to Lana Del Rey's song First Light, in the style of the films' openings.
  7. TacSim explained IGN's guide for new players explains TacSim, MI6's training simulation, where story spaces are replayed with modifiers and challenges for rewards.
  8. IGN's verdict From IGN's video review, which scored the game 9 out of 10: the reviewer weighs the missions, the Bond feel and the game's weaker stretches.

References

  1. 007 First Light on Steam, Steamprimary
  2. Announcing Project 007, IO Interactive, 2020-11-19primary
  3. Watch over 30 minutes of 007 First Light gameplay, launching March 27, 2026, PlayStation Blog, 2025-09-03primary
  4. 007 First Light gets a March 2026 release date, TheSixthAxis, 2025-09-03press
  5. 007 First Light release date delayed to May 2026, Game Informer, 2025-12-23press
  6. IO Interactive and Amazon MGM Studios unveil new story trailer for 007 First Light, launching May 27, 2026, IO Interactive and Amazon MGM Studios, 2026-02-12primary
  7. 007 First Light adds another star to its ensemble cast with Gemma Chan, Xbox Wire, 2025-09-25primary
  8. 007 First Light delays Switch 2 launch to summer 2026, Shacknews, 2026-04-08press
  9. 007 First Light releases official James Bond theme tune by Lana Del Rey, GAMINGbible, 2026-04-16press
  10. All 007 First Light pre-order bonuses, editions and prices explained, Insider Gaming, 2026-05-05press
  11. Is 007 First Light canon in James Bond? 007 First Light vs Bond movies explained, Insider Gaming, 2026-05-06press
  12. 007 First Light sequel depends on public reception, Insider Gaming, 2026-05-06press
  13. 007 First Light review, Game Rant, 2026-05-26press
  14. 007 First Light: The Kotaku review, Kotaku, 2026-05-26press
  15. Review: 007 First Light, Hardcore Gamer, 2026-06-02press
  16. 007 First Light, OpenCriticpress
  17. 007 First Light reviews, OpenCriticpress
  18. 007 First Light, Metacriticpress
  19. 007 First Light voice actor cast list, Shacknews, 2026-05-28press
  20. 007 First Light becomes IOI's fastest-selling game with 1.5 million in one day, Shacknews, 2026-05-29press
  21. 007 First Light Year One content roadmap revealed, IO Interactive, 2026-06-05primary
  22. Amazon wants to make 007 First Light sequels, but maybe without IO Interactive, TheSixthAxis, 2026-06-04press
  23. Amazon Games boss says a 007 First Light sequel should be made, PCGamesN, 2026-06-09press
  24. Amazon Game Studios boss clarifies that no decision has been made on possible 007 First Light sequel, PlayStation Universe, 2026-07-24press
  25. 1.1.0 Game Update, IO Interactive, 2026-07-24primary
  26. 007 First Light reaches 4 million copies sold, IO Interactive, 2026-08-20primary
  27. Path tracing now available for 007 First Light, IO Interactive, 2026-09-15primary
  28. 007 First Light Switch 2 release delayed to March 2027, Insider Gaming, 2026-09-15press
  29. Golden Joystick Awards 2026 nominations revealed, Dork, 2026-09-25press
  30. 007 First Light free DLC out now, IO Interactive, 2026-10-01primary
  31. 1.3.0 Game Update, IO Interactive, 2026-10-01primary
  32. 7 million wishlists celebration, IO Interactive, 2026-10-07primary
  33. 007 First Light Switch 2 date confirmed, IO Interactive, 2026-10-14primary
  34. 1.3.2 Game Update, IO Interactive, 2026-10-29primary
  35. Free Starter Pack launches on multiple platforms, IO Interactive, 2026-11-05primary
  36. About, IO Interactiveprimary
  37. 007 First Light, IO Interactiveprimary
  38. 007 First Light Steam charts (read Nov 4, 2026), SteamDB, 2026-11-04press
  39. Is 007 First Light on Game Pass?, Shacknews, 2026-05-26press

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About this page

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Status
Published and revised continuously; this version is the one described here.
Published
7 November 2026
Last updated
7 November 2026, see what changed
Sources
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License
Text CC BY-SA 4.0; embedded videos and thumbnails remain their uploaders’ property, shown under YouTube’s Terms of Service; quotations excluded. Details

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