Mr Fisher, Robert Sterling, James St John Smyth, and now James â1.5 million copies sold in 24 hoursâ Bond. I know it doesnât exactly roll off the tongue, but the numbers donât lie â 007 First Light has performed pretty well on its first day of launch. Even if the Steam numbers show a peak concurrent player count of quote-unquote only 71,073, itâs the fourth best-selling game on the platform. On the PlayStation Store, itâs ranked number 1 and 2 among the top ten games in the United States and the UK, respectively.
Even if it reportedly cost $140 million to develop (not including marketing), and the team has yet to break even based on current sales, this is a fantastic start, especially since post-launch content is coming.
Weâve been singing the praises of First Light since launch, whether for the stealth, combat or storytelling. Many will also point to the character himself â iconic, recognizable and possessing near-universal charismatic appeal. But itâs easy to forget how much of a non-factor Bond has been for the longest time in the wider world.
In the cinematic space, No Time to Die was released in 2021, and there hasnât been a new movie ever since. Amazon MGM Studios acquired the rights to the franchise in February 2025, and auditions are ongoing for the next Bond. But when it comes to video games, the desolation is much more severe.
The last game to feature Bond was Cypher 007 for mobiles in 2020, but there hadnât been a new title for consoles and PC since 007 Legends in 2012. Thatâs almost 14 years between games. But why?
Well, part of it has to do with the fact that from 2006 to 2013, everyoneâs favorite publisher, Activision, had the rights to the franchise and churned out the absolute worst 007 games ever. There was 007 Quantum of Solace in 2008, which received mixed reviews across every single platform for leaning too heavily on gunplay and not featuring any driving. Bond was a blunt tool in every sense of the word, except he wasnât even throwing hands, and for a game so focused on shooting, the cover mechanics were not great.
But thatâs alright â if Treyarch and Beenox couldnât deliver a good Bond game, then clearly Bizarre Creations could! Yes, instead of a new Project Gotham Racing or Geometry Wars, the studio delivered James Bond 007: Blood Stone. But despite praise for the presentation, characters and music â major components of any 007 story â it fell short in every single gameplay way that mattered. At least we got Blur in the same year.
Then we arrive at 007 Legends, developed by Eurocom, and easily the worst Bond game ever made. The concept wasnât that bad â celebrating the characterâs 50th anniversary by playing through levels based on his major cinematic eras. Not a bad idea at all, if everything worked properly and it actually delivered a compelling story, strong level design, or varied gameplay. But it didnât. Not even close.
Then thereâs the whole sordid history of the post-GoldenEye titles. Activisionâs GoldenEye 007 in 2010 was a decent reimagining of the N64 classic, but only just (and performance was nothing to write home about). Back in 2004, when Electronic Arts held the license, it opted for its own GoldenEye title called Rogue Agent, which had nothing to do with Rareâs classic. It also had nothing to do with the movie, strangely enough, and was just a completely unfun experience all around. Not as bad as Legends, mind you, but the fact that it was parading the GoldenEye name did it no favors.
Which isnât to say that EA completely bungled the IP â despite Rogue Agent, 007 Racing and Tomorrow Never Dies, it also delivered some strong entries in the form of The World is Not Enough, Everything or Nothing and Nightfire. The latter two went on to become some of the best original Bond titles in gaming, stepping out from GoldenEyeâs shadow, even if they couldnât quite live up to its legacy.
But thereâs no denying that Rareâs masterpiece loomed over the franchise as a whole. Some developers, like Black Ops Entertainment, were so hung up on surpassing it that they outscoped Tomorrow Never Dies, focusing too much on skiing segments that werenât even in the movie, instead of presenting an all-around quality game. And while the GoldenEye reimagining could be viewed as cashing in on a known quantity, Activision was really under no obligation to do justice to the franchise. It was the era of cashing in regardless of quality, if the sheer amount of awful games from licensed properties wasnât an indication.
First Light ultimately succeeds not just because of IO Interactiveâs strong stealth fundamentals, but also by weaving Hitmanâs multi-faceted approach into some missions. Itâs also because the studio understood its limitations, knowing that these things wouldnât be enough to properly capture James Bond, much less tell the story it wanted to tell. To that end, it took a completely different narrative approach, hired developers skilled in other features such as driving sequences, and examined a range of 007 media to deliver the ultimate James Bond video game.
And honestly, its release couldnât have happened at a better time because, for all intents and purposes, this is a clean slate for the character, mirroring his current situation in films. The self-contained story exploring Bondâs origins created the perfect opportunity to introduce a whole new generation to 007. Obviously, a video game approach canât really translate to other media, and yet, Iâd be surprised if Amazon wasnât paying attention to Bondâs depiction in First Light and the atmosphere as a whole. It has all the ingredients of a modern spy thriller â the set pieces, the quieter moments, the character development, the gorgeous vistas â with the suave confidence that befits 007.
So yes, while the lack of quality James Bond titles in almost 14 years is certainly a major factor, as is the characterâs fame in general, how his adventure ultimately plays out is the key to First Lightâs success. IO Interactive didnât just set out to create a great action-adventure title for the Uncharted fans who â letâs be honest â have been starving for almost as long.
Nor did it design a 007 adventure meant purely for long-time fans. In the same vein, it didnât try to just appeal to fans of its Hitman series. Instead, it had a vision for combining all of these and much more into a satisfying package, even if that meant sparing no expense to have everything that made Bond, Bond. The signature opening, a title track by a famous artist (and in this case, someone who wanted to make a film track but couldnât), absolutely stunning fidelity from top to bottom, immaculately designed levels, brutal CQC that would make Daniel Craig proud, an unprecedented level of detail to everything â who knew walking through Qâs lab and stressing out his employees could be so fun? â the list goes on.
Without going into spoilers, itâs clear that IOIâs journey with 007 is only just beginning, even if itâs yet to lock down work on a sequel. Whether it ultimately happens or not, one thing is for sure â James Bond, in all his glory, is finally back in the video game world, with First Light standing side by side with GoldenEye as the premier 007 experience. All we can truly hope for now is that it doesnât take another six or seven years to continue this new legacy.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
