There’s a new media blowout for 007 First Light ahead of the game’s launch, which is planned in less than a month on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch 2. IO Interactive‘s Global Brand Manager, Laurine Deschamps, was interviewed by Inven Global and revealed how combat and stealth in this licensed James Bond game differ greatly from the studio’s HITMAN franchise: combat is not a failure, and returning to stealth is possible even after entering combat.
We wanted to give players various opportunities to achieve their goals. That’s why we designed stealth and combat to flow naturally into each other. As I mentioned earlier, in HITMAN, entering combat mode was essentially a failure state. But in 007 First Light, you can freely mix stealth, action, and everything in between.
Gadgets can also be used for both approaches. In stealth, you can hack gadgets to disable cameras or bypass guards, or use a ‘dart phone’ to neutralize an enemy and slip past. Conversely, in combat, you can use gadgets like flash mines or missile pens to take down enemies directly.
We didn’t want stealth to become too slow or boring. So, we established a principle that being spotted should not mean the end of the game. You should be able to calm down a spotted situation, and usually, the way to do that is through bluffing or combat. Even if you are spotted during stealth and a brief combat situation ensues, if you take down the enemies quickly enough, you can return to a stealth state. It’s a mechanism that makes the game flow much more actively, even in stealth sections.
To add, we wanted players to always have forward momentum and for improvisation to play a big role. In Hitman, you could plan the map meticulously and wait for an enemy in a corner for minutes, but in 007 First Light, we wanted players to think faster. At the same time, we made sure all mechanics could be blended naturally.
The studio also revealed today that levels will be replayable through the so-called Tacsim mode, where 007 First Light players can replay levels to find optional routes they previously missed or simply retry them with increased challenge modifiers to unlock rewards like unique cosmetics. Tacsim is available in the Q Lab to further hone the training of the game’s young James Bond.
Check out some new gameplay below.
007 First Light will be released on May 27, 2026. On PC, IO Interactive has partnered with NVIDIA and will support NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 and path tracing.
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