007 First Light's "younger and more reckless" James Bond isn't official canon

The Danish developer is best known for making the Hitman games, but it’s now hard at work on First Light, the first Bond game since 2012’s 007 Legends.

This new third-person action title was revealed at Sony’s State of Play event in June, and it’s scheduled to be released sometime in 2026. It will delve into the secret agent’s origins as he fights his way up the MI6 ladder to earn the coveted ‘licence to kill’ status.

Initially teased back in 2020, Lacaille explains that the game was greenlit by Bond’s owner, MGM (which was bought by Amazon in 2022), after IO approached it.

You can watch this interview in video form, or keep reading for the key quotes!

"They’re famous for not accepting any pitches for Bond," Lacaille laughs. "It was a long shot, but we clicked with Amazon MGM [as it’s now known] right away. What made a difference is that IO is a studio famous for the spy fantasy genre. We’ve made Hitman for many years so we’ve refined our expertise."

IO pitched the idea of exploring Bond’s backstory while incorporating the fundamentals of what audiences expect from a 007 adventure, including exotic locations and plenty of gadgets.

However, with Amazon MGM yet to announce a new actor to replace Craig (who last appeared in 2021’s No Time to Die), the developer has drawn inspiration from Ian Fleming’s original James Bond novels, as well as exercising some creative freedom given to do something different with the character.

"There’s a lot of inspiration to take from all the great movies and their legacy, but this isn’t what the game is trying to do," Lacaille explains. "We’re not trying to emulate what’s been done in the past, but really trying to propose something fresh that’s specifically for the gaming medium."

He remains coy on Bond’s casting, stating that it will be unveiled later this summer, although he does add that this version of the character has plenty of charm but less confidence than we’ve seen before, given his age and relative inexperience.

One element that we’ll see in First Light that hasn’t been explored in a film is the scar on Bond’s face. It was first mentioned in Fleming’s 1953 book, Casino Royale, where it’s described as a "thin vertical scar on his right cheek".

The author never explicitly stated how it came to be, but Lacaille hints that the game might provide an explanation.

Nothing in First Light will be officially considered canonical, though, despite the notion being discussed with Amazon MGM.

"It's been discussed, but it's not the case", Lacaille said, on the topic of whether this game would sit in an official canon alongside the other projects Amazon MGM are developing for Bond.

"The idea has always been to have more freedom. [The game] will live alongside everything else that Amazon MGM is doing," Lacaille says, but it won't be overtly connected.

He adds that First Light’s story will feature themes around artificial intelligence and the importance of having people working in the field (a muse on working from home, perhaps), because they’re highly relevant today.

"One trait that is key to the Bond franchise is that the stories are contemporary and evolve with the times. We’re doing just that," he says. Female characters like M - who will have something of an origin story herself as she reopens the double O branch - will be pivotal to the game too.

June’s trailer gave us a glimpse of what to expect from the game. We find out that Bond’s parents died when he was 11 in a mountaineering accident. He watched them fall after they cut their own rope to save his life and then found his own way to safety.

We learn he’s incredibly smart but has a problem with authority figures. We’re told he served in the Navy and took part in a chaotic mission in Iceland for MI6 that nearly got him killed. He’s described as a "bullet without a target".

And then there’s all the traditional features of a Bond property, like a laser watch, explosive shootouts and hand-to-hand combat, as well as a high-speed car chase in an Aston Martin.

There will also be quieter moments where players will have to infiltrate guards or blend into a social environment at a gala, like we see in the Hitman series, but Lacaille says IO have had to ramp up the action. It’s focused on making gunfights feel authentic by working on weapon recoil, aiming and a cover system, while it’s also built driving segments for the first time.

"Agent 47 and James Bond are very different characters. In the Hitman games, you have to be very calculated and patient. You have to come up with a genius scheme to get a creative kill.

"[In First Light], Bond is younger and more reckless, so we want the player to think on their feet all the time. They will have to make quick decisions under pressure and so the pace and rhythm is different," Lacaille explains.

First Light will blend linear sequences with sandbox areas and players will get some freedom in choosing how to approach each mission. Gadgets can be used to take out enemies and to unlock doors or to turn cameras off to help them sneak around, but they won’t be able to go into every task all guns blazing as Bond is yet to achieve his licence to kill, Lacaille says.

"We’re playing with the licence to kill. Players will have to follow some rules of engagement. It’s a feature that will be detailed later this summer."

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