James Bond’s ‘007 First Light’ Is Already The Spy Video Game I’ve Sorely Missed

Hitman developer , while Metal Gear Solid petered out after Kojima’s relationship with Konami soured in 2015. Ironically, IO’s Hitman trilogy carried the torch thanks to its chic presentation and intriguing underworld of secret agencies and international crime syndicates.

Sparks of hope in the 2020s ultimately went nowhere. Microsoft created an entire studio to deliver a Perfect Dark reboot, only to shut the studio down earlier this year. Ubisoft promised a Splinter Cell remake, then made fans wait nearly half a decade for any new information. And while CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty offered the best spy story of the last decade, it was a relatively minor part of a massive, open-world role-playing game.

With the spy game genre now a wasteland, IO Interactive’s premiere is a First Light at the end of a dark tunnel. What was shown leans heavily on Hitman’s award-winning foundation, but it doubles down on everything one would expect from Ian Fleming’s seminal book series and the countless movies, TV shows, and video games it inspired.

Spy games deserve to be ever-present, and James Bond’s newest is a promising opening salvo for a grand return. And after such a long hiatus, this genre feels as refreshing as it’s ever been.

007 First Light will launch March 27, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.