007: FIRST LIGHT Creative Team Dug Deep Into James Bond’s History to Capture His “Bondliness”
When IO Interactive revealed they were making a James Bond game, it felt like a natural fit. The studio behind Hitman already knows how to create stylish espionage, but James Bond is a character with decades of history and multiple reinventions. That comes with its own challenges.
Thankfully, IO isn’t just winging it with 007: First Light. They’ve gone back through everything that makes Bond who he is to make sure their version feels authentic.
At Gamescom 2025, Theuns Smit, IO Interactive’s senior licensing producer, spoke with GamesRadar+ about how the team approached the character. When asked why Bond works so well across reinventions, Smit explained:
"What makes him unique is who he is inherently, his Bondliness, his charm, guile. Leaning into that meant that [when] working on this, we didn't want to do a retelling – we really wanted to inject a bit of our own into this."
That’s an important distinction. IO isn’t rebooting Bond or rehashing old stories. Instead, they’re crafting a Bond that feels true to the core of the character while still leaving their mark.
According to Smit, keeping that essence was a top priority. "We have a fantastic writer's team, who really spent a lot of time going through all the source material."
That attention to detail is already showing in the footage we’ve seen. Smit pointed to something fans spotted in the trailer:
"If you saw the previous trailer we brought out, there were a lot of people remarking on the scar on his face, which never really made it into the films, but it's from the Ian Fleming books. There's definitely no lack of source material."
It’s details like that scar which prove IO isn’t just making another spy game with Bond’s name slapped on it. They’re honoring the Ian Fleming novels, the films, and the long legacy of the character while shaping something new.
If 007 First Light captures even half the authenticity Smit describes, fans are in for a seriously cool James Bond experience.