007 First Light, the James Bond game from Hitman developers, gets a major pre-order discount months before launch

James Bond has been an icon of pop culture for generations, winning people over with sleek gadgets, Aston Martins outfitted with weapons, and of course, the superspy's effortless charisma. Despite the popularity, videogame tie-ins have either been instant classics or huge misses, and I'm hoping that 007 First Light, the upcoming game from legendary Hitman developers, IO Interactive, falls into the former camp. Time will tell, but what we know right now is that you can get a chunky discount if you pre-order through Fanatical, so if you're going to get it, you may as well get it there.

Whether you're a Craig stan or a Brosnan fanatic (loving both is fine, too), 007 First Light is certainly an interesting take on the character. This time you've got a fresh-faced Bond taking on his first mission so he can receive his 00 status and his license to kill. This provides a solid thematic and gameplay explanation for this version of Bond being a little rough around the edges, and considering how bad I am at some of the best sandbox games, like Hitman, well, that just makes my portrayal of the new Bond accurate

Like the Hitman games, there are promises of multiple locations, sprawled out with NPCs, but rather than being locked to stealth, you can equally dive in headfirst into the enemy HQ with guns blazing. That's a big change from Hitman's scorecard-style approach, and it means you can enjoy it as a more accessible, action-adventure flick if you prefer.

Based on existing trailers, 007 First Light looks like Hitman and Uncharted had a baby, and I'm here for that. It's also been over four years now since No Time to Die was released, so I've got a bit of a suave spy thriller deficiency, and I think 007 First Light's interesting take on the 72-year-old character will be exactly what I need.

If you're just as interested in giving 007 First Light a shot when it launches, you can grab it for just $60.89 / £52.19 at Fanatical. That's a 13% discount, and considering that pre-ordering it anywhere else means paying full price, that's a great bargain. We don't know how long this deal will be up for, but presumably until the 007 First Light release date at least.

In any case, I hope to see you on the field soon, 007. Do you think James Bond would be impressed with how a gaming PC can fit into a small tablet-sized device like the Steam Deck? I think so, although he'd probably be too busy to even play his own game, let alone waste time on Vampire Survivors for the 500th playthrough.