007 First Light
007 First Light sold 1.5 million units within the first day of release. That is a loud return for James Bond on the games shelf after an extended hiatus. The action-adventure game comes from IO Interactive, the studio behind the Hitman series, and it stars a Bond who has not yet earned his licence to kill. Its story is original, inspired by Ian Fleming's novels and short stories and by the long-running film series. The studio had to persuade the owners of Bond to let it try. What did that pitch promise, and who is this new Bond? How does a spy game play when the studio insists the player is not an assassin? And what did critics make of the result?
In January 2013, Eon Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer revoked the non-exclusive licence that publisher Activision held to make James Bond games. The decision followed the critical and commercial failure of 007 Legends in 2012. Bond video games then went quiet for an extended stretch.
IO Interactive found its way back in while finishing Hitman 3, which arrived in 2021. The studio met Eon Productions to pitch its own vision. Company president Hakan Abrak recalled the impression that Eon "were not looking for a game". Eon had grown dissatisfied with the action-oriented style of the recent console Bond games under Activision.
Chief creative officer Christian Elverdam explained that the pitch depended on moving away from weapons as the answer to every mission. He pointed to Hitman, where violent solutions were actively discouraged. That record helped convince Eon that there was a "sophistication" in how the studio approached espionage.
The studio also wanted an original Bond, separate from every earlier literary and cinematic version. It gave him a likeness not derived from any of the film actors. No playable Bond had done that since James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire in 2001. Elverdam liked that a Bond built from the ground up for games removed any duty to match older versions. It could be a take "gamers can call their own".
A trip to Pinewood Studios during production of the film No Time to Die in 2021 gave the team a feel for the "gravity" of the licence.
The centrepiece of the pitch was an origin story. According to Abrak, the earning of the licence to kill is only definitively and briefly shown in the opening of Casino Royale, the 2006 film starring Daniel Craig. Both sides welcomed a narrative that was "completely beginning and becoming a story", rather than a direct adaptation of an existing Bond film.
Art director Rasmus Poulsen added that the team wanted to leave out aspects of the character it judged outdated. His example was the attitude toward women that Bond expressed in earlier entries, which the developers believed current audiences would find sexist.
Irish actor Patrick Gibson plays a 26-year-old Bond who is still a recruit in the MI6 training programme. Gibson said he was "pretty stunned" when he learned he had been cast.
Narrative and cinematic director Martin Emborg saw a "built-in impatience" in Gibson that he called "perfect" for a young Bond. Emborg wanted the character to show "an unearned confidence", which he hoped players would read as the naivety of "a reckless young man". Senior combat designer Tom Marcham wanted the fighting to carry the "inner rage" of a boy who grew up an orphan.
No actor had been chosen to succeed Daniel Craig while the game was in development, and that gave the studio freedom. 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." 007 Legends took the opposite route. It adapted one film for every Bond actor, leaned on film material to coincide with the release of Skyfall in 2012, and used Craig's likeness.
Priyanga Burford's M is younger than earlier versions. Apart from Judi Dench, M has usually been an older male actor, inspired by Fleming's own superior officer at the Naval Intelligence Division. This M supports and encourages Bond rather than clashing with him. Emborg said the surrounding characters were given "some of those qualities that you know from Bond, and so that they can inform the character".
Kiera Lester voices Moneypenny, who works as a field analyst assisting Bond rather than serving as M's secretary, as in the original stories. A similar field role appeared in the prologue of Skyfall.
Alastair Mackenzie's Q is older than Ben Whishaw's version in the Craig films, though not as old as Desmond Llewelyn or John Cleese. Mackenzie played him as the "cool uncle figure" he saw the character as when he was growing up.
Original characters fill out the world. Lennie James plays John Greenway, a senior MI6 field agent and Bond's reluctant mentor. Noémie Nakai plays Isola Vale, a thief. Gemma Chan plays Selina Tan, an expert in psychology and game theory. Lenny Kravitz plays Bawma, a flamboyant arms dealer. Bond's fellow trainees are the upper-class Cressida Bright, played by Jessica Rhodes, and the former SAS trooper Lennox Monroe, played by Chris O'Reilly. The villains are Sir Nicholas Webb, played by Anthony Howell, and his son Damien, played by Bart Edwards.
"You're playing as a spy, not an assassin." That was how IO Interactive described the gap between 007 First Light and its own Hitman games. The emphasis falls on infiltration, investigation and eavesdropping on clues.
In the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy (2016-2021), combat was a last resort. Assassinations needed careful setup, which gave those games a slower, puzzle-like pace. First Light pushes the player forward, whether the approach is stealthy or an open fight. The studio kept the Hitman freedom of choice but wanted to avoid a "reskin" of that series.
The Batman: Arkham series supplied the model for freeflow combat. The Uncharted series supplied the large action setpieces and destructible environments. The goal was a combat system that flows seamlessly into cinematic setpieces.
Players control Bond from a third-person perspective, with occasional quick-time events and cutscenes. A mission can be played aggressively, by fighting enemies and taking them down. It can also be played with bluffs and environmental items, slipping past enemies or talking a way out of trouble. Bond can parry attacks and perform takedowns.
Bond is usually restricted to non-lethal means. When enemies show the intent to kill him, he may be granted a "license to kill", which permits lethal force, including firearms.
Q's lab supplies Bond's attire, weapons, equipment and vehicles. His main tool is the Q Watch, a modified Omega Seamaster Diver 300M that can hack electronics.
Vehicles were new territory. 007 First Light is the first IO Interactive title with drivable vehicles. Poulsen called their inclusion a "huge challenge", and the studio had to "bring onto the team specific driving expertise" to handle it.
The story opens in Iceland, during a Special Air Service retrieval operation. Both helicopters are shot down, and trainee Navy aircrewman James Bond is the sole survivor. MI6 contacts him, and he heads to a research camp studying a crashed satellite. He finds it occupied by the terrorist mercenary group Arrowhead. Defying direct orders, Bond rescues the captive scientists and destroys the camp, so the asset cannot be taken away.
The next month, M recruits Bond into the revitalized 00 program, where he starts months behind six other candidates. Under his handler, John Greenway, he passes the exams and befriends his team, especially Monroe and Cressida. M then suspends their training and sends them after Rhys Beckett, a rogue agent and former 009, who has been traced to a hotel in Slovakia.
At the Slovakian hotel, Bond follows a suspicious staff member who is one of a pair of assassins, the Murto twins. The assassin kills Monroe and plants a bomb that kills two other recruits and leaves Cressida temporarily paralyzed. Believing Beckett is behind it, Bond chases him to his plane and attaches his watch to it. That lets MI6 track Beckett to Mauritania.
In Mauritania, Bond and Greenway find that Beckett has already been killed. Evidence suggests he was the target of the bombing rather than the culprit, but it is destroyed as they escape a mercenary ambush. M declares Beckett responsible anyway and closes the case. One of the Murto twins attacks Bond at home. Bond tracks him to a gala hosted by AI pioneer Sir Nicholas Webb and kills him there. He finds evidence linking Webb to the Slovakia bombing and learns that Greenway is also a target.
Damien Webb captures Bond. A false French agent he met in Slovakia rescues him, and she turns out to be a professional thief named Isola Vale. Bond reunites with Greenway, who has killed the assassins sent after him. The pair infiltrate the headquarters of Webb Industries. With Isola's help, they learn that Webb has been covering up the mistakes of his quantum supercomputer, THEIA, which MI6 uses to predict terrorist threats. THEIA falsely declared Beckett and two other agents to be moles, and Greenway was sent to eliminate them. Webb murdered Beckett so that he could not expose THEIA's flaws. Shocked, Greenway parts ways with Bond.
M orders both agents brought in on terrorism charges, yet sends Bond to a luxury resort in Vietnam to gather evidence on Webb and intercept Damien. There Bond finds the biologist Theresa Lorca and kills the other Murto twin before he can burn her to death. Damien captures Bond again, and Greenway rescues him. Bond hunts Damien down and seemingly kills him by crushing him under pipes. Greenway is fatally wounded in the pursuit. In his final moments, he admits that Bond is what MI6 needs and that his heroic nature is what defines him.
Webb leaks vital MI6 information and coerces M into granting him full immunity. Bond goes rogue and teams with Isola to infiltrate Webb's observatory in Antarctica. He discovers a scheme to supplant the British government with THEIA's sibling AI, HYPERION. Bond fights through security and Webb himself to reach HYPERION's core. Isola fatally shoots Webb and steals the core for herself. Bond gives chase, stops her and destroys the core before he is taken into custody.
Bond and Isola are both imprisoned at MI6, then released when Damien and his mercenaries attack the building. Isola flees. Bond heads to THEIA's chamber, where Damien stabs Moneypenny and takes THEIA's core. Bond dispatches the mercenaries with a customized Aston Martin Valhalla and chases Damien into the sewers. He disables Damien's exo-suit and throws them both into the water below, drowning Damien. Bond nearly drowns himself, but Isola rescues him. She takes THEIA's core, kisses him and escapes.
At Greenway's grave, Bond is inducted into the 00 program and cleared of all charges. He designates himself 007 and vows to track Isola down. He wants to recover the THEIA core and learn whom she works for.
Development of 007 First Light spread across IO Interactive's five studios, in Copenhagen, Malmo, Istanbul, Barcelona and Brighton. A small team began the work while most of the company was finishing Hitman 3. With a budget before marketing of over $100 million, it became the studio's most expensive title.
IO Interactive did not use generative AI in the game's development. Poulsen said that a theme of Bond is often "beware of utopia". The story deals with the intersection of artificial intelligence and its fallible role in decision-making for defence companies.
The studio set out to "reinforce the immersion" of Bond as a British spy by removing Americanisms. In the State of Play demo of September 2025, which showed the Slovakia section, Bond said "parking lot". The final game says "car park". On the 13th of May 2026, the game "went gold", meaning principal development was complete and the disc was sent for manufacture.
The Glacier engine received a new proprietary volumetric smoke system, which IO Interactive claims "has not been done anywhere before". The lighting model also uses ray tracing and "fully dynamic" global illumination.
Two luxury brands from the films appear on screen. A new Omega Seamaster chronograph was designed for the game, and the Aston Martin Valhalla was still upcoming at the time. The gameplay trailer indicated that both are modified into Q gadgets.
The score was composed by the Flight. IO Interactive chose them for a younger Bond because they could blend cinematic orchestral music with modern electronic textures not yet heard in the franchise. Classic John Barry themes feature, but audio director Dominic Vega said the young Bond has to "earn his themes" as the story unfolds.
In October 2025, reports emerged that a song called "First Light" by Lana Del Rey had been registered with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. On the 16th of April 2026, it was revealed as the game's theme song, co-written and produced by Bond film composer David Arnold. Del Rey had earlier submitted a song called "24" for Craig's film Spectre in 2015. It was rejected, and she placed it on her fourth studio album, Honeymoon. Polygon wrote that "First Light" is "fully committed to the storied legacy of Bond themes, even to a fault", with its jangling guitar and orchestral swells.
On the 19th of November 2020, IO Interactive held a livestream to announce its next game after the then-upcoming Hitman 3. It ended with the reveal of Project 007, a new Bond game with an original story. IO Interactive would develop and publish it in collaboration with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon Productions. The announcement coincided with the official start of development at the studio's Denmark and Sweden sites.
In February 2025, Amazon MGM Studios took over supervisory duties on the title. It had acquired full creative and production rights to the Bond property from Eon and former film producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. That made First Light the first Bond game released since Eon's departure from the series. The April 2025 instalment of Nintendo Direct confirmed a Nintendo Switch 2 version.
The game was formally unveiled as 007 First Light on the 2nd of June 2025. Its first trailer premiered at Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play on the 4th of June. It appeared again at the IOI Showcase on the 6th of June. A dedicated State of Play on the 3rd of September 2025 revealed gameplay and narrative details, along with the cast. On the 24th of September, Tokyo Game Show announced Gemma Chan as the original character Dr. Selina Tan. On the 11th of December, The Game Awards announced Lenny Kravitz as Bawma.
The launch date slipped. The game was first announced for the 27th of March 2026 on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S. In December 2025, that date moved to the 27th of May 2026. In April 2026, the Switch 2 version was delayed to the third quarter of 2026. Abrak said the team wanted more time for optimization. They were still working to get it ready because of the legacy of Bond games on Nintendo platforms. The other three versions arrived on the 27th of May 2026.
Promotion reached beyond games. IO Interactive partnered with Coca-Cola on themed cans of Zero Sugar Zero Caffeine. Prizes included in-game outfits for Bond and a one-of-a-kind, game-themed Xbox Series X. From the 14th of May to the 10th of June 2026, a free copy was bundled with the purchase of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series graphics card.
Review aggregator Metacritic rated 007 First Light "very favorable". Rick Lane of Eurogamer wrote that it "isn't the Bond game that I wanted from IO Interactive... but I had a great time with it regardless". He singled out the writing, saying "almost every line lands with wit, soul, or both", and called it the best-written AAA game since Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Lane found Bond "perhaps the most empathetic Bond yet". He added that "the real surprise in First Light is how strong the secondary cast is".
Lane's reservations concerned structure. He described the game as largely linear, though it "frequently pretends that it isn't". It sometimes seems to offer several solutions, then funnels the player toward one intended path. He praised the close-quarters combat and the "bluffing" mechanic as a novel addition. Many levels, he felt, were "spaces that Bond is just passing through on the way to his next objective", which hurt their memorability.
Mark Delaney of GameSpot compared the game directly with Hitman. He listed distracting guards, hanging from ledges or pipes, eavesdropping and lying to enemies as Hitman staples. He praised the hand-to-hand combat, especially how interactive the environment is during a fight. He also liked the gunplay, since guns "never have much ammo with them", so players must frequently swap weapons taken from defeated enemies. The gadgets helped "ensure the spirit of the Bond character is alive". His complaint was pacing. In a runtime of about 20 hours, some sections ran significantly slower than others.
Amelia Schwanke of TechRadar praised the cinematic sequences, writing that IO Interactive had made a game that "truly feels like you're playing a James Bond in a movie". She said the training montage near the start felt "straight out of a Rocky film". She noted that the Bond on screen has "no Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan shadow hanging over him". His cocky attitude came across as "more eye-roll inducing than funny", yet it worked because he is far younger and less refined. She admired the open-ended stealth, though it was "stripped back" compared with the sandbox of Hitman. She compared the gadget system to the Batman: Arkham games and the setpieces to Naughty Dog's Uncharted series. She also noted frequent physics glitches. The driving sections felt "tacked on" and "not nearly as dynamic as they could've been".
Abrak told IGN that he hopes First Light leads into a potential trilogy of Bond games for the studio. A younger version of the character, he said, gives audiences a Bond to grow with. He had earlier spoken of carrying the Bond story across "multiple" games, in the manner of the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy. That ambition motivated the studio to pursue the licensing deal, after it had previously rejected offers to make games from other companies' properties.
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Common questions
What is 007 First Light?
007 First Light is a 2026 action-adventure video game developed and published by IO Interactive. It tells an original James Bond origin story inspired by Ian Fleming's novels and short stories and by the film series.
When was 007 First Light released and on which platforms?
007 First Light was released on the 27th of May 2026 for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S. The Nintendo Switch 2 version was delayed to the third quarter of 2026.
Who plays James Bond in 007 First Light?
Irish actor Patrick Gibson plays James Bond in 007 First Light. His Bond is a 26-year-old, inexperienced MI6 recruit, and the character's likeness is not derived from any previous film actor.
What is the story of 007 First Light about?
007 First Light follows young Bond as he trains in the revitalized 00 program and works to earn his licence to kill. He uncovers a plot by AI pioneer Sir Nicholas Webb involving the quantum supercomputer THEIA and its sibling AI, HYPERION.
How did IO Interactive get the James Bond licence for 007 First Light?
IO Interactive pitched Eon Productions its own vision while developing Hitman 3, pointing to Hitman as proof of its sophistication in espionage gameplay. The licence had been open since Activision lost its non-exclusive licence in January 2013 after the failure of 007 Legends.
How was 007 First Light received by critics?
Metacritic rated 007 First Light "very favorable". Reviewers praised the writing, combat and Gibson's performance, while criticising linear level design, pacing, physics glitches and the driving sections.
How many copies did 007 First Light sell?
007 First Light sold 1.5 million units within the first day of release.
How much did 007 First Light cost to make?
007 First Light had a budget of over $100 million before marketing, making it IO Interactive's most expensive title. Development was spread across the studio's five sites in Copenhagen, Malmo, Istanbul, Barcelona and Brighton.
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98 references cited across the entry
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- 3The most interesting Omega watch of 2025, that hasn't actually released... yetTom Austin — 25 December 2025
- 4Omega drops a trailer for the next James Bond, and it's all about the watchSpencer Hart — 6 October 2025
- 5James Bond Hops into a Souped-Up Aston Martin in Vehicle-Themed 007 First Light TrailerMichael Cripe — 20 November 2025
- 7'Hitman' Developer Is Making 'Project 007,' A James Bond Origin StoryPaul Tassi — 19 November 2020
- 8IO Interactive officially announces 007 First LightSal Romano — 2 June 2025
- 9Watch over 30 minutes of 007 First Light gameplay, launching March 27, 2026Yann Roskell — 3 September 2025
- 10007 First Light New Details: James Bond's Age, Origin Story, Inspiration, Classic Characters, and MoreAbdullah Jawad — 7 June 2025
- 11Next James Bond Game Will Focus On A "Young" Bond, Aims To Launch New TrilogyBlair Marnell — 16 October 2024
- 12James Bond Origin Story Game Project 007 Officially Coming to Nintendo Switch 2Lex Briscuso — 2 April 2025
- 14007 First Light Adds Gemma Chan to the CastKyle Knight — 25 September 2025
- 15Kokista kansainväliseksi näyttelijäksi: Anssi, 35, päätyi James Bond -pahikseksiMonica Kaurola — 4 July 2026
- 16Activision loses James Bond licence?1 April 2013
- 17Activision 007 games pulled from digital storesBrendan Sinclair — 1 April 2013
- 20From Hitman to 007 and everything between – Edge magazine goes behind the scenes with IO InteractiveAlex Spencer — 4 January 2024
- 21Hitman Dev's James Bond Game Is an Original Story Drawing From the Franchise's Entire HistoryBrian Barnett — 5 April 2021
- 22Hitman Developer's James Bond Won't Be Based on Any Previous ActorJordan Oloman — 26 January 2021
- 23Hitman studio IO opens up a little about its James Bond 007 gameRobert Purchese — 16 March 2023
- 24Project 007 Is a 'Young Bond for Gamers' and Hopefully the Start of a New Trilogy, IO Interactive Boss SaysKat Bailey — 16 October 2024
- 25007 First Light Franchise Art Director Admits Steps Were Taken to Avoid Certain 'Traits' of BondLuke Addison — 10 September 2025
- 26New James Bond game shows more vulnerable side to iconic British spyMarc Cieslak — 24 May 2026
- 28Two More High-Profile Games Say No To GenAIEddie Makuch — 1 May 2026
- 30IOI is 'keeping the British end up' in 007 First Light by switching out Americanisms to "reinforce the immersion"Victoria Phillips Kennedy — 28 May 2026
- 31007 First Light Now Ready for Action, James Bond PS5 Game Goes GoldLiam Croft — 13 May 2026
- 32007 First Light Has Officially Gone GoldJoshua Duckworth — 13 May 2026
- 33Hitman developer IO Interactive teams up with Nvidia to make its James Bond game look incredibleUral Garrett — 16 June 2025
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- 35007: First Light Aims To Channel Batman: Arkham Freeflow Combat With Uncharted SpectacleDarryn Bonthuys — 23 February 2026
- 36007: First Light gameplay director talks Uncharted and Batman: Arkham influences that add to IO's Hitman pedigreeFran Ruiz — 25 February 2026
- 37007: First Light will be less stealthy than Hitman because IO is pushing "forward momentum gameplay all the time"Jordan Gerblick — 14 February 2026
- 38Watching A Behind-Closed-Doors Demo Of 007 First Light Quelled My Biggest WorryWesley LeBlanc — 2 September 2025
- 39How 007 First Light Learns From And Moves Beyond HitmanBrian Shea — 29 January 2026
- 40007 First Light is Not a Reskin of Hitman – IO InteractiveJoelle Daniels — 4 September 2025
- 42How IO Interactive Crafted Its Young Version Of James BondBrian Shea — 28 January 2026
- 43007 First Light’s James Bond Actor Was “Pretty Stunned” to Learn Of His CastingVarun Karunakar — 16 May 2026
- 44Patrick Gibson's "Impatience" Made Him Perfect For Young James Bond In 007 First Light, Dev SaysEddie Makuch — 29 January 2026
- 46007 First Light Reveals New Details About Its CharactersEvan Zimmer — 4 March 2026
- 48007 First Light Dev Diary Outlines the Cast, Including Alastair Mackenzie as QRavi Sinha — 5 March 2026
- 49Developer IO Interactive on why Bond needs to "earn" his iconic theme music in 007: First LightAlex Donaldson — 8 September 2025
- 50007 First Light Theme Song Artist Reportedly LeakedBrent Koepp — 20 October 2025
- 51Lana Del Rey Drops Orchestral Title Song for '007 First Light' Video GameJaeden Pinder — 16 April 2026
- 52From 'Video Games' to video games, Lana Del Rey records new James Bond theme song for 007: First LightNick Romano — 16 April 2026
- 53Lana Del Rey to sing theme for new James Bond gameManish Pandey — 16 April 2026
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- 59Project 007 Targeting Modern Systems, Will Run on Glacier EngineSammy Barker — 19 November 2020
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- 62IOI's James Bond game confirmed for Switch 2Victoria Kennedy — 2 April 2025
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- 66Next PlayStation State Of Play Announced, Coming Very SoonEddie Makuch — 3 September 2025
- 67007 First Light Adds Marvel Star Gemma Chan to James Bond Game CastTom Phillips — 25 September 2025
- 68007 First Light confirms music icon for Bond villain role in much-anticipated video gameEcho Apsey — 12 December 2025
- 69James Bond game 007 First Light gets first trailerAndrew Webster — 4 June 2025
- 70007 First Light's release date gets shaken upJay Peters — 23 December 2025
- 71007 First Light for Switch 2 delayed to "later this summer"Sal Romano — 8 April 2026
- 72"I Will Do Everything I Can" - IO Interactive Boss Promises 007 First Light Won't Pull A Borderlands 4Ollie Reynolds — 5 May 2026
- 80007 First Light Review – Youth In RevoltMark Delaney — 26 May 2026
- 81007 First Light review: "Bond's greatest game to date, this is a well-oiled spy thriller machine"Josh West — 26 May 2026
- 82007 First Light ReviewLuke Reilly — 28 May 2026
- 83007 First Light review - IO Interactive's Hitman formula fits Bond like a glovePaul Kelly — 26 May 2026
- 84007 First Light review: Tomorrow Never DiesDonovan Erskine — 26 May 2026
- 85007 First Light delivers a blockbuster Bond origin story packed with spycraft, stealth and explosive action set piecesAmelia Schwanke — 26 May 2026
- 86007 First Light review – a triumphant James Bond game made by obsessive fansMatthew Castle — 26 May 2026
- 87007 First Light review: IO nails the James Bond fantasy with a globetrotting epicJordan Middler — 26 May 2026
- 88007 First Light Debuts to 1.5 Million Sales in Just 24 HoursLiam Croft — 28 May 2026
- 90007 First Light Has Sold 4 Million UnitsRavi Sinha
- 91Japan's Video Game Rankings, May 25-31Rafael Antonio Pineda — Anime News Network — 9 June 2026
- 92News007 First Light Debuts in 1st on the UK Retail ChartsWilliam D'Angelo — 1 June 2026
- 93NewsHere are all The Game Awards 2025 winnersClaire Lewis — December 11, 2025
- 95IO Interactive's Project 007 to Feature a 'Young Bond for Gamers' with a View to a TrilogyStephen Tailby — 17 October 2024
- 96NewsIO got the 007 license because it wants to make 'multiple Bond games' in the same way it handled HitmanRich Stanton — 9 November 2023
- 97News007 First Light sequels will be 'done by MGM and, theoretically, by Amazon Game Studios,' Amazon exec saysAndy Chalk — 3 June 2026