007 First Light contains some of "the largest" missions Hitman developer IO Interactive has "ever done" before, which could make it one of the studio's biggest games yet

IO Interactive, the studio behind gems like Hitman, might just be releasing its biggest game yet with 007 First Light – a title that starts nice and slow, but quickly picks up pace.

Speaking to GamesRadar+ during a recent interview at Gamescom 2025, franchise art director Rasmus Poulsen first describes how 007 First Light – arguably one of the most exciting new games on the horizon – opens. "The drive in… It's about giving you that calm, story-driven introduction to the world, where we're inviting you to roleplay James Bond, experience and simply take in the world, and form your own expectations of the mission at hand."

Things shake up a bit once players make it to the "chateau," as Poulsen explains. "When you arrive, we dive into much more familiar territory from an IO perspective and from an audience perspective, where we have this chateau laid out before you, which then has in it everything from social gameplay up to the larger areas where you are free to roam around and utilize the width of the gameplay that we have to offer."

In these "larger areas" and beyond, players may discover that 007 First Light's missions are… well, massive. As Poulsen states himself, "I would say some of the missions in the game are the largest we've done in our history in terms of measurements." When he uses words like "in our history," I can't help but think of other IO Interactive games, including Hitman, as well as Kane and Lynch. Will 007 First Light harbor even grander gameplay and missions?

It certainly sounds like it. Senior licensing producer Theuns Smit told us that 007 First Light is "not a reskin" of Hitman, after all. He assured players that IO Interactive brought "amazing fresh talent" in, including developers with "specific driving expertise" to help build the new game's car missions – including the introductory one, I'd assume. Thankfully, there's not long left until fans can find out for themselves as 007 First Light releases March 27, 2026.

007 First Light's James Bond is "certainly handsome" but "he isn't a Ken doll," says IO Interactive: "The human aspect of him is something we were really trying hard to give you"