‘007 First Light’ Gets a Release Date and New Gameplay Details

“James Bond will return.”

It’s the little teaser that appears in the end credits of most films in the 007 franchise, dating back to 1963’s From Russia with Love. And no matter who is playing the British agent or what his next story entails, the send off serves as a promise that there will always be a next adventure for one of pop culture’s greatest heroes.

Now, the promise extends to gaming with next year’s 007 First Light — the first major Bond game in well over a decade. Developed by IO Interactive (of Hitman fame), the third-person action game looks to be an ambitious reimagining of the series’ mythos that’s worthy of the franchise’s name.

Initially announced back in 2020, the game’s title and teaser trailer revealed a short look at First Light earlier this year. Today, PlayStation pulled back the curtain with a full hour of gameplay shown during a livestreamed State of Play on the company’s YouTube channel — as well as announcing an official release date of March 27, 2026.

The video shows a full playthrough of an early mission in the game, beginning with Bond and a female companion driving a stylish green Jaguar through the Carpathian Mountains on their way to an enormous estate. Bantering as they go, the conversation teases their mark: a now-rogue agent codenamed 009.

The cinematic ends with Bond ditching her cover as a chauffeur to track a blonde man dressed as a bellhop who’s just dumped a body. The first interactions with security show off the game’s dialogue tree options wherein players can choose how they respond in various situations. Unable to talk his way in, Bond must find another route. In the area there are multiple objects that can be manipulated to cause a distraction — a feature that will be very familiar to fans of the IO Interactive’s Hitman series.

After a daisy chain of distractions, Bond slips by and ascend the walls of the building, candidly joking aloud to himself and others with trademark sexual innuendos (“Penetration tester” is pure Sean Connery wit). Inside, the breadth of the building is revealed cinematically, neatly slipping into scripted sequences without ever fully disengaging gameplay.

The video then skips ahead to a bruised Bond racing toward a car to chase the bellhop, initiating the first look at vehicular action gameplay. Slamming through barricades and brush, the car picks up realistic damage effects, with its rear bumper and license plate dangling in tow. The level of mayhem feels perfectly ripped from the films, especially the recent Daniel Craig tenure, although with some more ludicrous feats that harken back to the slapstick elements of earlier entries.

After ditching the car, it’s time for Bond to eschew the stealth method and open fire on an entire legion of armed soldiers while pursuing a plane on foot. The third-person gunplay looks much more in-depth than anything seen in the Hitman games, with Bond able to improve moves like tossing an empty rifle at an enemy to quickly gain ground for a takedown. After blowing up multiple SUVs and gasoline tanks, he makes his way down the runway to just barely latch onto a motorized ramp and chase the plane. Just about everything explodes along the way.

On the wing of the plane, Bond lands a one-liner before engaging in multiple fistfights, all controlled by the player, before sneaking inside. Showing off one of his slick watch gadgets, he’s able to hack the plane’s controls, with the player manipulating the tilt of the plane with the L1 and R1 buttons in real-time while also engaging with enemies. It’s a dynamic sequence that looks to require lateral thinking to control both the character and the environment simultaneously.

Of course, Bond ends up in freefall at some point, with the player dodging skydiving enemies and flying cars while trying to rip away a parachute. Then the demo ends.

Following the gameplay, the voice and face model for Bond, Patrick Gibson, is revealed alongside a cast that includes Lennie James as Greenway, Priyanga Burford as M, Alastair Mackenzie as Q, Kiera Lester as Moneypenny, and Noemi Nakai as Ms. Roth.

After the cast details, the video shifts to a narrated walkthrough of a similar mission that showcases how infiltration works in action. Bond can listen to conversations to pick up essential information or marks to talk to. The narration explains that there’s multiple ways for Bond to accomplish any particular mission — in this case visualizing three ways the agent can procure a camera to dupe security into thinking he’s a photographer.

The gameplay is highly reminiscent of the moder Hitman: World of Assassination games, which operate as social puzzles where users can talk, sneak, misdirect, or fight his way through each encounter. Rewinds show how one poor decision can snowball into greater issues down the road, but improvisation remains key.

This version of Bond is very physical, but he also has plenty of gadgets like a watch laser, smokescreens, and knockout darts. But when tricks fail, the combat system kick in — and it looks complex. Bouncing between enemies, the melee action looks fluid, similar to the Arkham Asylum games, but with more environmental interaction. Players can throw enemies over pool tables and shoot down objects from the ceiling to take enemies out.

Although it was just a brief look, 007 First Light looks to blend all of the best aspects of IO Interactive’s Hitman series with the outrageous elements of the James Bond franchise for an entirely different take on the franchise.

Fans will get to find out how it feels to be Bond themselves when 007 First Light launches on March 27, 2026, for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.