IOI's New James Bond Game Draws Unexpected Inspiration From a Classic Franchise (Hint: It’s Not Hitman)

PlayStation's most recent State of Play took place on Jun. 4, 2025, and with it, plenty of new and exciting announcements. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater got a new trailer, Silent Hill f also received a new trailer and an official release date of Sept. 25, 2025, and Ghost of Yōtei was teased ahead of a July State of Play that will focus solely on this highly-anticipated sequel. One of the biggest announcements to come out of the Jun. 4th State of Play might surprise gamers, though.

007 First Light is an upcoming IO Interactive action-adventure game that takes place in the James Bond universe. 007 First Light is an action-adventure game that focuses on a younger version of James Bond than most fans are used to. The game will take inspiration from the Bond film franchise as well as the original source materials (novels and short stories) by Ian Fleming. Agent 007 is a perfect protagonist for an action game, but surprisingly, First Light doesn't seem to follow in Hitman's footsteps, one of IO Interactive's biggest franchises.

IO Interactive Unveils the Studio's Newest Game

007 First Light Will Let Players Step into the Shoes of a Younger James Bond

Gamers and James Bond fans finally got a look at IO Interactive's newest game, 007 First Light . IO Interactive unveiled a 007 First Light announcement trailer at PlayStation's State of Play on Jun. 4, 2025. The game is expected to be released for the PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026. An official release date hasn't been announced yet, so interested gamers will need to stay tuned for more information about the game's release.

Much of the trailer focused on British actor Lennie Michael James, who will be portraying John Greenway. Many horror fans may recognize Lennie James from AMC's The Walking Dead (2010-2022), where he played Morgan Jones in 55 episodes from Season 1 all the way to the final season (Season 11). Lennie James also played Morgan Jones in 70 episodes of Fear the Walking Dead (2015-2023). Gamers might recognize James from his role in Destiny (2014) and Destiny 2 (2017), where he voices Lord Shaxx, the Titan who oversees the Crucible.

Aside from the Lennie James reveal, most of the announcement trailer focused on a young James Bond at the very beginning of his career as an agent. 007 First Light has already been described as a James Bond origin story that takes inspiration from Ian Fleming's novels and short stories about the character. It will also draw from the still ongoing film franchise. As far as gamers can tell, First Light doesn't want to overwrite the franchise and start over; it just seeks to put players in control of a young Bond who seems too rough around the edges to listen to authority. This is James Bond in a way that's never been seen in his many, many films.

"What he did in Iceland was insubordination. It was ill-disciplined, utterly reckless. He only survived thanks to blind luck. Give me one good reason to put him in the programme, ma'am." - John Greenway describes James Bond

The announcement trailer does reveal a little bit about Bond's backstory; his parents killed themselves to save his life. He was stranded on the side of a mountain on his own at the age of 11, but he managed to survive and find his way back to safety. After losing his family, he was bounced around from boarding school to boarding school, where he performed well academically, but constantly butted heads with authority. He eventually joined the Navy, where he continued to question authoritative figures. He allegedly has incredible instincts, but he is a headache for anyone he works for. Greenway's superior describes Bond as a "bullet without a target," and she intends to give him one by making him an agent.

Players will obviously take on the role of this younger version of James Bond , following his story of becoming an agent and all the adventures he embarks on. In Nov. 2020, IO Interactive, Eon Productions, and MGM teased an upcoming James Bond video game. 007 First Light officially went into production after IO Interactive finished Hitman 3 (2021). 007 First Light is actually an action-adventure game, which may come as a shock to fans of IO Interactive's Hitman series. Many gamers expected this new James Bond game to mimic Hitman , but it actually seems to be taking inspiration from a completely different source.

007 First Light's Announcement Trailer Emphasizes Its Action-Adventure Vibe

Gamers Have Already Pointed Out How Similar It Seems to Naughty Dog's Uncharted

As mentioned, one of IO Interactive's most popular franchises is the Hitman series. Hitman is a series of stealth games that puts players in control of contract killer Agent 47. As Agent 47, players travel around the world to carry out various missions, usually revolving around assassinating a specific person or group of people. Considering James Bond is a Secret Service agent with a "license to kill," it's not surprising that many gamers expected IO Interactive to follow in their own footsteps and make 007 First Light like the Hitman series.

Surprisingly, 007 First Light's announcement trailer doesn't really look like Hitman . The entire trailer focuses on the action-adventure gameplay similar to franchises like Uncharted , Tomb Raider , and even the Indiana Jones video games. Agent 007 might not be a treasure hunter or archaeologist, but the adventures showcased in the announcement trailer could definitely fool someone into believing they are going after treasure.

One scene in the trailer focuses on James Bond slowly standing up in a body of water, surrounded by fire. While Bond rises from the water, Greenway narrates that Bond "only survived thanks to blind luck." This scene seems innocent enough, but it does clearly draw inspiration from both Uncharted and Tomb Raider .

Lara Croft, the main protagonist of Tomb Raider , has an extremely similar scene in Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018), where she emerges from a lake with fire all around her. Greenway insisting that Bond is only alive due to luck is very Nathan Drake-coded. Nathan is a skilled explorer, but he often goes in unprepared and with very little gear. Dumb luck seems to be an active force that helps him come out of things mostly unscathed.

Nathan Drake from Uncharted is canonically very lucky. Both allies and enemies make note of how "lucky" Nate is. Some of his enemies even use this as a way to taunt him, insisting that he needs to count his blessings because, eventually, they will run out. Jonathan Cooper, one of the animators who worked on Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016), confirmed that Nathan Drake doesn't take damage from bullets at all.

"That’s a mega-swing! Sidenote I learned on joining the team: Drake doesn’t ever take bullet damage. The red UI that shows ‘hits’ is to represent his ‘luck’ running out. Eventually, enemies will get a clear shot and kill him if he takes enough near-misses." - Jonathan Cooper

But the similarities to Uncharted don't stop there. Some gamers have already pointed out how much the young James Bond looks like Nathan Drake. Beyond that, the announcement trailer features a lot of scenic shots of the environments that Bond will be traversing and exploring. This includes Bond infiltrating an extravagant mansion, hosting some sort of gala, a nightclub, and even a massive car chase on a winding mountain road.

Bond is seen scaling large buildings, fighting in what looks like a jungle, driving a boat across open water, and even scuba diving. Not to mention, an entire hostage situation where Bond and Greenway are captured and strung upside down over a pit of hungry gators. The montage of action sequences like car chases, gunfights, and hand-to-hand combat, mixed with some stealth sections, is extremely reminiscent of modern action-adventure games.

It's got blaring similarities to titles like Tomb Raider and even The Last of Us Part II (2020). Out of all the action-adventure games in recent memory, it's hard to see anything other than Uncharted 4: A Thief's End while watching the 007 First Light announcement trailer. Bond's personality and charm even seem to mirror Nathan Drake's in many ways. Obviously, First Light isn't a carbon copy of Uncharted , but it's safe to say that Uncharted fans will probably want to check this James Bond game out.