007 First Light – The Legend Begins

For years, James Bond was nearly as synonymous with video games as the iconic British Secret Service agent was with film. Starring in beloved games like Agent Under Fire, From Russia with Love, Everything or Nothing, and, of course, GoldenEye 007, Bond has left an indelible mark on the medium. However, after 2012’s 007 Legends failed to live up to expectations, license holders Eon Productions and MGM revoked the license from then-publisher Activision, and Bond hasn’t received a new video-game adventure since.

That changes this year, as James Bond is set to make his triumphant return in 007 First Light, an origin story for the world’s most well-known superspy, developed by Hitman studio IO Interactive. Everything we’ve seen of 007 First Light has impressed us to this point, so we traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, to dive deep into the process of bringing Agent 007 back to the world of gaming. As a result of our conversations and an extended gameplay demo, 007 First Light has emerged as one of my most anticipated games of 2026.

From 47 to 007

IO Interactive’s history includes high-octane action games like Freedom Fighters, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, and Mini Ninjas, but the studio’s story simply cannot be told without its most prominent and popular franchise: Hitman. Starting in 2000 with Hitman: Codename 47, players control Agent 47, a blank-slate killing machine, as he takes out high-value targets across the globe. Though you can often accomplish your goals by kicking down the door and going in guns blazing, the best encapsulation of the Hitman franchise comes from the intentional plotting of your path, as you make your way to your target, undetected, and take them out in a way that either looks accidental or cannot be traced back to you.