“We wanted to make our own James Bond,” says 007 First Light producer

We recently had the chance to sit with Theuns Smit, the senior licensing producer at IO Interactive, the developer behind the upcoming spy-tastic action adventure game 007 First Light, due to arrive on March 27, 2026. IO Interactive, the developer behind the acclaimed espionage series Hitman, has big ambitions for the project. Smit notes that, despite Bond having an expansive history, the developers “didn’t want to just do a retelling of before […] we wanted to make our own James Bond”. 

We picked Smit’s brains regarding everything from 007 First Light’s emphasis on spycraft to its new James Bond, Patrick Gibson. Given that Gibson is playing a younger, less experienced Bond, Smit is keen to emphasise this Bond’s “naivete and more you know, hopefulness”. IO plans to “throw him into the deep end of this world of espionage”.

✓ VideoGamer Summary

• IO Interactive’s upcoming James Bond game will feature an entirely original take on the iconic spy rather than retelling existing stories.
• 007 First Light serves as an origin story, portraying Bond before his MI6 days.
• Gameplay emphasizes adaptability and creativity, letting players use Bond’s intelligence, charm, and quick thinking.
• Actor Patrick Gibson (Dexter) brings Bond to life via motion capture.
• IO Interactive aims to modernize the Bond legacy, drawing on the series’ rich history while updating it for contemporary sensibilities.

License to kill

007 First Light is an origin story, designed to reground James Bond into a fresh narrative framework. As Smit describes: “He’s not at MI6 yet, he hasn’t earned his number yet”. 

That said, even though this Bond is a neophyte, he’s still a capable agent. For Smit, it’s about the fantasy of being “James Bond himself, having his brains, his brawn, his charm. 

“All of this comes into play. Not only [in terms of Bond’s] nerve, but [in] the gameplay as well.” 

The gunplay is designed to have an improvisational quality. As Smit puts it, “if you find yourself in the heat of battle and there’s a weapon by your feet. Well, kick it up, grab it […] When the bullets are out, don’t just drop the gun. Sling the gun right at the next character.” 

However, 007 First Light isn’t purely about gunplay and violence. Espionage and more cerebral approaches also have a place. 

“If you have the ability, you can bluff your way out of the situation they escalated. And other times you will have to improvise,” elaborates Smit. 

“There’s a lot of variety we’re bringing into this. You can choose to go full stealth. [Alternatively,] you can choose to lean into the action […] You can see there’s a really high focus on the forward momentum that we carry within, you know, the gunplay sections and the action there. So there’s a lot of kinetic energy.”

Bonds of fellowship

The suit may make the man, but it’s the man in the motion capture suit that makes the character we see on screen. IO Interactive came in swinging with their leading man in 007 First Light, bringing Patrick Gibson from serial killer thriller Dexter Original Sin fame to play the titular suave spy. 

“Patrick Gibson has been kind of a glue for the other actors as well,” explains Smit. 

When asked about who his favourite member of the 007 First Light cast was, Smit wryly replied: “It’s like almost asking you to choose your favorite child”. 

There is no lack of talent on display here, with the French agent Miss Roth played by Noémie Nakai and Bond’s mentor John Greenway played by Lennie James. 

“Everybody brings their A game and brings such a passion to bringing their characters to life that they do a fantastic job”. 

Crucially, Miss Roth and John Greenway are both original characters, cooked up by IO Interactive itself rather than transplanted from the works of the author behind the original James Bond books, Ian Fleming. 

Smit also offered us a tantalizing glimpse of what to expect from one of these central characters. 

“Greenway is the one that is training up the recruits,” Smit begins. “I don’t want to spoil too much, but there’s a really fun dynamic between those two characters”. 

A new Bond for a new age

Smit rightly draws attention to how there is “no lack of source material when it comes to James Bond, you know, with the films and the novels”. 

However, it’s here that we stumble upon a potential elephant in the room. In recent years, the James Bond franchise has garnered a mixed reputation due to a history of misogynistic clichés and toxic masculinity.  

The ‘Bond girl’ trope is a particular source of consternation. James Bond books, films, and even video games have often portrayed the women of their stories as nothing more than sex objects. We wanted to see how IO intended to dodge this particular bullet. 

“When it comes to the woman of Bond, we do recognize that we have seen quite an evolution over the past few years… and especially in the Craig era,” says Smit. 

That said, in the same breath, Smit reassured us that the story of 007 First Light “is told with powerful and dynamic female characters.” 

Though we cannot yet confirm if IO Interactive will walk the walk, it is reassuring to know that the developer is, at least, talking the talk.

While 007 Last Light remains an unproven and untested quantity in the world of video games, our talk with Smit confirmed that the project is, at the very least, ambitious in its scope and modern in its outlook. It’s in this spirit that we at VideoGamer look forward to Last Light’s impending release with at least a trepidatious sense of optimism. 

007 Last Light is set to release on March 27. 2026, for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

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