![\"007](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_259762187-a52d.jpg\")
\n\t\t007 First Light \u2013 Bond is back (IO Interactive)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t007 First Light \u2013 Bond is back (IO Interactive)<\/p>\n
GameCentral speaks to Hitman<\/a> makers IO Interactive about their upcoming new James Bond<\/a> game and exactly how similar it\u2019ll be to the movies.<\/p>\n Project 007 was announced almost five years ago<\/a> now and despite a debut trailer in June<\/a> we still know very little about it, other than it\u2019s by Hitman developer IO Interactive and that it stars a young version of Bond, long before he became a 00 agent.<\/p>\n IO has promised to reveal more this summer, but the lack of information isn\u2019t as worrying as it might be. Given how much Hitman has referenced and paid homage to Bond over the years, IO already seem like a safe pair of hands.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a long time since they\u2019ve done anything action-packed though, and storytelling has never been their strong point, but we were very encouraged after our recent talk with franchise director Jonathan Lacaille. We still haven\u2019t seen or played the game ourselves but so far he\u2019s saying all the right things, in what will hopefully be a Bond game to rival GoldenEye 007<\/a> itself.<\/p>\n GC: There have been a lot of Bond games over the year but the only of any real note could\u2019ve easily featured any character and been just as good. So how have you approached the adaptation and how do you handle the very significant differences between video game and movie action and storytelling?<\/strong><\/p>\n JL: <\/strong>I think we\u2019re leaning a lot on the pedigree of the studio and having worked on Hitman as a franchise for 20 years means that we\u2019ve mastered that by now. [laughs] The spy fantasy, especially. It\u2019s not a secret that Bond has been an inspiration for Hitman. When we created a spy fantasy, we of course looked at the best out there and we have a lot of Bond fans in the studio, obviously.<\/p>\n After 20 years of working on that, we felt maybe we had a shot at pitching it. And the pitch, originally, was leaning a lot on what we do best. So the freedom of approach that you have when you approach a problem, the gadgets, blending in, trespassing, the stealth aspect as well\u2026<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tExpert, exclusive gaming analysis\t\t\t<\/p>\n Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter<\/strong><\/a> for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not enough, because James Bond is not Agent 47 and we had to complete that fantasy and add a few more elements. When you\u2019re looking at a Hitman level, we expect the player to be quite patient, to count the seconds between the rounds of guards passing by, until they get their lunch, and then you can get past\u2026 It\u2019s a bit more slow paced.<\/p>\n We knew we could not do that with Bond, so we had a lot of work to do in terms of action, whether it\u2019s melee combat, ranged \u2013 shooting is not something we\u2019ve really done in Hitman before. Because in Hitman, when you get to shooting you\u2019ve basically failed the level; you\u2019ve been discovered and that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In Bond it\u2019s very different, you want to have a lot of forward momentum. We want always to keep the player quick on their feet and to think fast under pressure and to choose between different avenues very quickly. And that\u2019s how we\u2019ve approached the design of the game.<\/p>\n To answer your question about cinematic action, the way we\u2019re approaching this is that the structure of the game\u2026 so you\u2019ll have moments that are inevitably more linear than others, because there is a specific time where we want to have some very cinematic action \u2013 a mix of gameplay, mix of cinematics \u2013 so there will be those moments that are very crafted.<\/p>\n There\u2019ll be some chases, where you have to run after someone, for instance, or a car chase. Things like that, that are a bit more linear. And then you have other moments in the game where you need to infiltrate an area and you have different options, different ways to make your way in. Whether it\u2019s charming a character, whether it\u2019s stealing a keycard, or jumping on a window or bluffing \u2013 it\u2019s too early to tell you how that works but it\u2019s something that we felt you had to have in a Bond game.<\/p>\n GC: Are the majority of action scenes linear and prescribed? Or are some of those more sandbox-y?<\/strong><\/p>\n JL:<\/strong> When I talk about the linear action pieces you also have moments where you have what I would call an arena where you have a room, for instance, that you can approach in different ways, whether it\u2019s stealth or all guns blazing or you take down people one by one. There is some of that more open action as well.<\/p>\n \t\t GC: How do you approach the character of Bond? I feel if he\u2019s not a sexist, misogynist dinosaur there\u2019s really no point in doing a James Bond film or game. Because that is the character. But then again you don\u2019t want him to be mistaken for some awful manosphere type person. So how do you thread that needle? Because the more you shave off the rough edges, of any character, the blander and less interesting they become.<\/strong><\/p>\n JL:<\/strong> It\u2019s a good question. It\u2019s rare to be able to work on a franchise that\u2019s being going for so long. That\u2019s been good for ages and adapted with its time. Whether you\u2019re talking about Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan they were dealing with things that felt very topical at those times, for the audience watching it. And that\u2019s the same thing we\u2019re gonna do in our game.<\/p>\n GC: I remember asking my mum about the sexism in the Connery films and she pointed out it was considered outrageous even at the time. Whereas I think nowadays a lot of people just assume that\u2019s how everyone carried on in the 60s.<\/strong><\/p>\n JL: <\/strong>It\u2019s the Bond of the past that was made around a different time. And I think the Bond that we have today\u2026 he\u2019s still going to have interactions with women. [laughs]<\/p>\n GC: You laugh but that\u2019s quite unusual for a mainstream video game\u2026 to deal with sex in anything but the most oblique way. Does he seduce women and use his sex appeal?<\/strong><\/p>\n JL: <\/strong>A big difference with our Bond is his age. He\u2019s 26. He\u2019s starting out, he\u2019s not even a 00, he\u2019s barely a recruit at MI6, so he doesn\u2019t have that confidence that you would have\u2026 he has some but he\u2019s not there yet, he\u2019s not the character that we know. He\u2019s still very different, he\u2019s a diamond in the rough.<\/p>\n There are some elements that you find, that lead to him become the character you know, for instance charm. He\u2019s a charming guy, he has charm in spades. He just doesn\u2019t really know how to weaponise it yet. Bluffing: he\u2019s trying, sometimes he\u2019s failing. But he will have romance, even though all that will be very new to him.<\/p>\n \t\t GC: For me the most important element of the films to get right is the sense of humour and the irreverence. The British sense of humour is very different to to the Danish or French, and definitely from Americans. With Bond, it\u2019s not just one-liners, it\u2019s the whole tone of the films.<\/strong><\/p>\n JL:<\/strong> I agree and, honestly, it\u2019s one of the pillars of the pitch. The characters need to be quintessentially British and there\u2019s a few things that help us get there. First of all, our narrative and cinematic director has always had a great relationship with MGM [the film studio that has always handled Bond and which Amazon bought in 2023 \u2013 GC] and one of the reasons that we landed the project is because they were seduced by his understanding of the franchise.<\/p>\n But to come to your point about the smaller things \u2013 which are big [laughs] \u2013 like banter and puns\u2026 jokes. I\u2019m French, I can\u2019t come up with that stuff. [laughs] But I know exactly what you mean and we have English writers on the team, I mean we\u2019re based in Brighton! But even before we had IOI Brighton we had consultant writers based in the UK, to review all that content. And, of course, MGM are working very closely with us on the project.<\/p>\n GC: It\u2019s such a pleasure to play a game made in a different country, rather than the vast majority that are made by or for the US. I think of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just recently. It\u2019s not like Bond is vastly different from a stock American action film but there\u2019s those few degrees of difference that are all important.<\/strong><\/p>\n JL:<\/strong> I completely understand your point and I think it\u2019s a very valid one and it\u2019s been in the minds of everyone here. The studio is European, we have a studio in the UK, so we are trying to be authentic.<\/p>\n \t\t GC: The other issue, and this is a more general one when adapting movies, is that even for a very action heavy film it\u2019s still the character and dialogue that you remember the most. You can see it with the very formulaic Marvel films, where the script and actors are what makes the difference between a good or bad entry.<\/strong><\/p>\n JL: <\/strong>The game is narrative driven. Its design is we\u2019re following the story very much. Every decision we make needs to bring the story forward. So whether you\u2019re playing in an arena or it\u2019s linear or driving or its shootout it\u2019s because of the story. So this is how the game is built. In terms of characters, they are the heart of everything, from Bond\u2026 there\u2019s a character arc, character development, from his first day to MI6 and his shot at being a 00.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the same for every character. They have a character arc as well. We had to think about what stage of life M would be, when Bond is just starting. We are introducing his mentor and they have a\u2026 cold relationship at first. I would say he\u2019s a father figure and he\u2019s a teenage son, a little bit. To describe it quickly.<\/p>\n Moneypenny\u2026 he often has Moneypenny in his ear, and they have a lot of chatter and they\u2019re building their relationship as they go. It starts formal and then gets more informal along the course of the game, as they build a friendship.<\/p>\n \t\t GC: Of course, Bond didn\u2019t start in movies, he\u2019s a literary character. What can a game do with the character that the movies can\u2019t?<\/strong><\/p>\n JL: <\/strong>A few things! One of the first things I would say is where we shoot! We\u2019re building everything digitally, so there are areas where recording a movie would be too dangerous and we may decide to bring you there in the game, because we can.<\/p>\n But, quite simply, based on the medium, we\u2019re putting the player in control and making them feel like Bond. And we need to make players feel as smart and as quick on their feet as James Bond would be. And it\u2019s a balance, not making it too easy and not making it too hard, but at the same time making them feel they are doing cool stuff and turning the odds in their favour. Because that\u2019s what Bond does, right?<\/p>\n GC: How close do you skew to the films? Will you have a theme tune and opening scene? Will there be an Austin Martin in it? Are you even allowed to do that stuff?<\/strong><\/p>\n JL:<\/strong> The package needs to be like a Bond product, right? It\u2019s an original game, it\u2019s an original story, it\u2019s a young character\u2026 there\u2019s a lot of novelty in that sense. But there are pillars of this IP that you can\u2019t do without and it\u2019s been a while since Aston Martin was something that was attached to the IP, but we took a twist on it and\u2026 it may not be the DB5 that everyone is used to.<\/p>\n As songs go, you have the sonic branding, which is such a big pillar of Bond and we\u2019re working on music with our very talented audio director and there\u2019ll be some great things that we\u2019re cooking and are going to be revealed later.<\/p>\n GC: What\u2019s your favourite Bond film?<\/strong><\/p>\n JL:<\/strong> I don\u2019t have one specifically, but I would say I love what they have done with the Daniel Craig saga \u2013 the character development over time.<\/p>\n GC: That\u2019s a funny way to say From Russia with Love, but okay!<\/strong><\/p>\n JL: <\/strong>[laugh]<\/p>\n GC: OK, that\u2019s great. Thank you very much for your time.<\/strong><\/p>\n JL:<\/strong> No problem at all, speak to you again soon.<\/p>\n Formats: Xbox Series X\/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC \t\t Email\u00a0gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a>, leave a comment below,\u00a0follow us on Twitter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n To submit Inbox letters and Reader\u2019s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our\u00a0Submit Stuff page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our Gaming page<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\tComments Arrow Arrow![\"007](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_259762189-87a2.jpg\")
\n\t\tThat definitely looks like Q branch (IO Interactive)<\/p>\n![\"007](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_259762190-5624.jpg\")
\n\t\tBut will it be funny? (IO Interactive)<\/p>\n![\"007](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_259762153-0187.jpg\")
\n\t\tHitman doesn\u2019t get into car chases (IO Interactive)<\/p>\n![\"007](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_259762152-4eae.jpg\")
\n\t\tThis looks a very Bond-esque location (IO Interactive)<\/p>\n
Price: TBA
Publisher: IO Interactive
Developer: IO Interactive
Release Date: 2026<\/p>\n![\"007](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_259762195-9b1c.jpg\")
\n\t\tNobody does it better? (IO Interactive)<\/p>\n
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