The Daily Vantage

There’s a great moment in 2012’s Skyfall where Daniel Craig’s superspy, James Bond, is being (very sensually) interrogated by agent-turned-villain Silva (Javier Bardem). Asked what his hobby is,
Bond sternly replies, “Resurrection.”

It’s a dry, self-aware bit of dialogue that encapsulates the core strength of the Bond franchise that’s kept the spy series going for over 70 years: James Bond always comes back, in one form or another. Whether it’s being dragged out of retirement or bouncing back from a bout of amnesia in author Ian Fleming’s original serial novels, or the generational reboots that allowed Bond to be acceptably recast over 25 feature films, there’s always a way for 007 to start anew. In gaming, the same has been true, with multiple versions of Bond appearing across different eras and genres of titles, totaling over two dozen entries.

And just like the films, Bond games have had their peaks and valleys. At their best (like 1997’s Goldeneye), Bond games can perfectly embody spy fantasy action; at their worst (like 2008’s 007: Quantum of Solace), they end up as run-of-the-mill copycats of other popular games wearing a 007 mask. And while most developers have opted to lean into the star power of the on-screen actors to recreate their Bond or mostly hide behind a first-person perspective to dodge the issue entirely, few studios have taken the leap to fully make their own version of the iconic agent. That’s what gives IO Interactive’s upcoming 007 First Light (due out in 2026) such alluring potential.

Initially announced back in 2020 under the working title Project 007, First Light was fully revealed this year with a trailer during Sony’s State of Play on June 4. Developed by Danish studio IO Interactive- famous for the Hitman series – it’s a third person, narratively driven action game that doesn’t just go back to the origins of Bond but fully creates its own version of the character and his mythos, unbound to any existing written or cinematic canon. Following a younger Bond who has yet to obtain his 00 status, First Light treads new ground for the franchise, going even farther back than the opening scene of 2006’s Casino Royale where Craig’s iteration earned his call sign. With a new M, Q, and entirely original supporting cast, the Hitman devs are taking a bold swing, introducing the world to the first fresh take on Bond in gaming since 2012’s 007 Legends– and well before Amazon’s own cinematic reboot emerges.

Rolling Stone recently spoke with IO Interactive’s CEO, Hakan Abrak, to understand how the studio is working to create their own vision of Bond, how it compares to their previous work on the stealth series Hitman, and why it can’t all just be “bang bang, vroom.”

The three pillars of design

Those who know the work of IO Interactive are well aware of their reputation the premiere developers in stealth gameplay. The Hitman series, which began 25 years ago with Hitman: Codename 47 and continues presently with the standalone trilogy-turned-live service platform Hitman: World of Assassination, is essentially the ultimate sneaking simulator. Taking on the role of the shadowy, silent assassin Agent 47, players are tasked with killing specific targets using everything from elaborate disguises to manipulating their environment like a Rube Golberg machine to create cascading emergent incidents that execute their victims in true Final Destination fashion.

But while the Hitman games have closed ecosystems for each level where players are essentially solving a socially-driven murder puzzle, the world of Bond demands something very different – more theatrical and over-the-top in terms of its action and emotions. To do so, the team at IO needed to set some important ground rules and methods to follow.”When we were thinking about how to approach this, we tried to create some pillars to be our North Star,” Abrak says. “One of the pillars was high-octane action – you know, cinematic experience, kinetic combat, exotic vehicles.”

“There are certain things that are very strong [points] for the Hitman experience: the simulator, the open world, the freedom, right? But not vehicles, and not necessarily action,” Abrak explains. “So, one of the pillars was [that] we really need to push more freeform, dynamic hand-to-hand combat. Seamless, going into ranged combat, aware of your environments. Everything is a weapon and opportunity. Creativity and dynamism [are] a part of this. Obviously, upping our capabilities with the cinematics and [what] we call the spectacle moments, because there’s larger than life action pieces in Bond – to be able to depict that sweaty palm experience as well.”

For Abrak, the second pillar was a more familiar one: globetrotting. Agent 47 may have done dirty work, but each level of a Hitman game affords a look inside a high-stakes and luxurious world. Whether it’s walking the runway in a Parisian fashion show or slipping through the crowd at an F1 race in Miami, the titular Hitman is always blending into high society, but rarely ever engaging with it. But Bond? He’s always going to be the center of attention, for better or worse.

“It’s [coming] to the exotic places, these extreme VIP places where mere mortals like you and me maybe don’t get to [go] every day and have gameplay there,” he says. “I think this is what we do differently from many other studios. It’s not only about the bang bang and the vroom, but it’s also about having gameplay in social spaces and trespassing spaces where you can use your gadgets in a different way, and you can use your charm, use your wits in solving these puzzles – or solving people, really.”

Delineating Bond, and differentiating him from their previous protagonist, is important. The team’s final pillar of design was understanding how to approach the “daunting” task of creating their own version of a character known around the world. “I don’t think there’s a formula for it,” Abrak says. “I don’t think the movie people had a formula for it, right? It’s feeling in your guts and your heart on what is the story you want to tell, [and] who is he?”

Building a Bond

When it comes to Bond, everyone has their favorite version. For some, it’s Sean Connery’s roguish and smarmy charmer; for others, it’s Roger Moore’s campy huckster. Like many who prefer a more grounded take, Abrak is partial to Daniel Craig’s more recent era (“I personally think [it] was extremely strong”). But while the character itself can be malleable, there’s many preconceptions on the core elements that define him. Regardless of the interpretation, he’s a man of contradictions: charming but ruthless, practical yet reckless. As seen in Craig’s movies, some of the polish comes with age, but the core tenets remain – and will be present in 007 First Light.

“This Bond is not a super polished diamond. He’s not well-versed with his [tuxedos]; definitely not well-versed with the martinis yet,” Abrak says. “He’s a rough diamond. And it’s this young man with his inner ethos. It’s a young man that sometimes is maybe reckless, and it’s a young man that maybe doesn’t know yet when to push too much or when to stand back a bit. So, he’s learning these things the hard way being introduced to the shady, dark world of espionage.”

And when Abrak refers to Bond as a “young man,” he isn’t exaggerating. While Fleming’s early works place Bond at being somewhere between his late twenties and early thirties, First Light‘s version is 26, but looks downright baby-faced. Although, as many diehard readers will notice, he also adorns the large facial scar Bond has in the novels that was mostly omitted from his MGM movie outings.

Yet despite his age, the developers don’t want their Bond to feel juvenile or amateur. If they’re going to do justice to the character – as well as live up to power fantasy previously provided by Hitman– this 007 needs to have impact. “I think it’s a huge challenge to [be] courageous, to take on this challenge is it’s not our own IP,” Abrak says. “This is the first IP we’re working on that’s not our own. So, I think for us, it needed to be with a nerve. It needed to be, not doing Robin, but doing Batman.”

But whether it’s Bond or Batman, part of the origin story has to deal with learning the ropes, which is going to lead to missteps – especially in the harsh world of global espionage. “There’s always a twist. There’s a lot of twists and surprising elements in a Bond story,” Abrak notes. “And I think this young man having to find himself, having to find something that he can believe in, that he can be part of something that makes sense to him – it’s all a part of his journey.”

“The other thing is, who can you trust? [Who] can’t you trust?,” he continues. “I think calling him naïve is completely wrong. He’s not naïve, He’s super smart and has his wits with him. But it is a very complex world out there. It is a very geopolitical, difficult world out there.”

Double agents

That world looks to be populated by a cast of both new and old characters. The first trailer for the game begins with a conversation between M, Bond’s classic superior and occasional foil, and Greenway, an original character described by IO Interactive’ website as a mentor figure (although no voice actors for the roles have been announced). Shortly after, there’s a look at Q, Moneypenny, and more fan favorites, but one specific name is particularly exciting: 009.

In the pantheon of Bond villains, turncoats from MI6 have often served as some of the best baddies. From Sean Bean’s 006, Alec Trevelyan, in Goldeneye (1995) to Javier Bardem’s Silva in Skyfall, former agents have a history of turning up as formidable (and deliciously played) mirror images of Bond. The trailer’s narration seems to imply that, this time around, an unseen agent with the callsign 009 will play an antagonistic role, referring to them (with nongendered language!) as “a master manipulator.” The voiceover concludes, “Whatever the endgame is, we won’t see it coming.”

Although Abrak won’t divulge about the nature of 009 or the game’s villains (“I want to tell you so much, but I can’t!”), there’s plenty to glean from what he does say. In a similar way to how Craig’s era as Bond dealt with the debate about the need for human field agents in a modern period of digital surveillance, First Light looks to be exploring the value of having agents the government can trust.

“I think that’s interesting in itself, betrayal in the world of spies is a thing. [Also] in the real world that we hear about, double agents and all that. Without going too much into the story and revealing anything, I think 009 is a very important part of the story,” Abrak says. “The interesting part here is that the 00 [Double O] program has been laying dormant for quite a while, and the M we meet is actually believing in the human church and believing in resurrecting the 00 program.”

“It’s very exciting,” he adds. “Why was it dormant? Why was it being restricted? What was 009’s role in that?”

Connecting with fans

Regardless of which Bond is your favorite, the fact that the argument persists is telling. While the books and movies always offered a feeling of escapism in exotic locations, what truly resonates with fans is the character of James Bond. There’s a certain charm and heroism, sure, but the character himself is very human and vulnerable – all those traits combined have left audiences attached to who he is (sometimes literally, in terms of casting).

For Abrak, that connection runs deep. The developer, who’s of Turkish descent, has felt that attachment to the franchise since his childhood. “I was born in Denmark, [but] my father came here in [1969], and there’s not a lot of international movies and things that my father would watch,” he says. “He would watch those old Turkish TV soap operas and stuff like that. But Bond was one of those things that captured so many people, and also captured my father’s attention. It’s one of the few things that’s not Turkish [that] he would watch, and I’d watch those things growing up together with him. Some special memories there.”

That personal tie is something that the creators of First Light want to instill in their players when they experience the game. While their previous experience with Hitman was more about crafting localized pockets of storytelling centering on individual missions and marks, telling a Bond story requires greater cohesion and scope. “There is an overarching story in Hitman, but the locations themselves almost have a whole game or substory to [them] as well. So, we have this overarching [story], but really, it’s the locations themselves where things are evolving and the stories are going on,” Abrak says. “Whereas, with Bond, it’s a journey. It’s an evolution of a young man, and the things that happen along the way not only should be impactful, but they should have lingering effect that connect to things later in the story.”

Part of that connection stems from Bond himself, who is a much more animated character than Agent 47, who’s conversely a mostly emotionless fixture that’s juxtaposed (to comedic effect) with the outlandish luxury and violence around him. For Bond, there needs to be more deeply explored. “One thing that was so exciting – because Hitman doesn’t speak to you, to the player – [was] that you could convey a lot of [Bond’s] personality through the things he says,” Abrak explains.

“[It] kind of channels that through the controller to you; that you get to feel him; that you get to understand him; that you get to laugh with him and [hopefully] get sad with him and feeling lost throughout this journey.” 007 First Light launches in 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.