007: First Light, the new James Bond game from the developer of Hitman, which was previously known as Project 007, has been unveiled, with a new trailer during the Sony State of Play.
And the most exciting bit of all is that we finally get to see its version of Bond.
It's clearly an early, pre-00 status take on Bond - "before the tuxedos and martinis," according to IO CEO Hakan Abram. There's talk of putting him into a new training program, and his CV is mostly a rundown of his time at school, rather than any particular missions he's been on. There's an obvious introduction to some classic characters, as Bond himself - a new take on the classic character who looks more like a blend of every previous Bond actor than anyone specific - steps into the sunlight.
The good news is that it's a third-person action game, where you can instantly see the Hitman DNA that I was desperately hoping IO would be holding onto. From stealthy takedowns to ridiculous gadgets, or sliding distractions across the floor, it's definitely the kind Hitman Bond that I was really hoping we'd find.
Obviously, we also get an Aston Martin car chase, which is very much out of IO's traditional wheelhouse, but there's also some interesting set pieces, and plenty of Bond Girl potential - I think I lost count of the number of femme fatales we saw.
I'm surprised to see any kind of gameplay, given how long Project 007 remained in the dark, but that's because it's less far away than I might have thought. 007: First Light is coming next year, with a bigger gameplay deep dive later this week.
Keep an eye on the Summer Game Fest 2025 schedule for that extra gameplay.
