When you talk about matches made in gaming heaven, IO Interactive and a James Bond game is certainly one of them – on paper, at least. The Hitman developer's penchant for creating stealthy, surprising, and emergent gameplay moments makes it the logical choice to create a new 007 game, something that's been a long time coming. Well, this week you'll finally get to see the studio's highly anticipated Project 007, which now has an official title: 007 First Light.
For the most part, James Bond games of yesteryear aligned themselves with whatever major film release was dropping at the time, or attempted to recreate iconic moments from the movies. Some are still hailed today as essential, must-play games – others are remembered for being totally awful. What's shocking, though, is that it has been well over a decade since a new experience as the world's most famous spy arrived – 2012's mediocre 007 Legends was his last videogame outing. IO Interactive will soon be changing that, however, with 007 First Light. Previously referred to simply as Project 007, all that was known about it was that it would be a "wholly original Bond story" where players "would earn their 00 status in the very first James Bond origin story."
That's a tempting proposition, and IOI's glowing reputation thanks to the superb Hitman series nudges 007 First Light even higher up my personal list of most-anticipated new PC games. After months of sneaking in the shadows, it'll soon be time to see what IOI has cooked up.
A post on the newly created 007 First Light X account, shared by IOI, says that a "mission brief is headed your way soon," and the accompanying graphic confirms that the full game reveal will arrive "this week." With the Summer Game Fest showcase airing on Friday, June 6, there's a very high likelihood that this is when we'll get to see 007 First Light.
I'll caveat this excitement by saying that nowhere does it mention there will be any proper gameplay snippets – this could well be a stylized reveal trailer or a montage of cinematics and cutscenes. Regardless, it's great to see this game, which has been pretty much silent since it was first announced all the way back in 2020, is finally ready to get shown off. Hopefully this also means the 007 First Light release date isn't too far away either.
For more, check out our list of the biggest upcoming PC games that may well get some air time this week as well. For something you can sink your teeth into right away, here are some of the best stealth games.
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