April’s Nintendo Switch 2 Direct revealed many details about the upcoming console, but the most unexpected portion of the showcase was the sweeping announcements of games coming to the platform, which included a lot of surprising titles. Among those was Project 007, a James Bond game we hadn’t heard an update on in years from IO Interactive, the developers behind the Hitman series. Today, we learned the game’s proper name and that a full reveal will drop this week, presumably during one of the summer’s major showcases.
https://x.com/007GameIOI/status/1929553749963350144
The title is 007 First Light, and while details are scarce, a description of the game has appeared on IO Interactive’s official site. “007 First Light is a brand new James Bond video game developed and published by IO Interactive,” the description reads. “Featuring a wholly original Bond origin story, players will step into the shoes of the world’s favorite Secret Agent to earn their 00 status.” The second sentence gives context to the hashtag “EarnTheNumber,” which appeared today in social media posts about the game. This description also confirms what we learned in 2021 – that the story would be a completely original take on the character.
A press release states that the trailer will include “never-before-seen footage,” though it’s unclear if this means gameplay, cutscenes, or some other CG-based teaser.
To catch the reveal live, be sure to bookmark our list of the summer’s biggest showcases. For more IO Interactive, you can read our Hitman 3 review, though the game has much more content now, thanks to the additions it gained when it rebranded as Hitman: World of Assassination.
