IO Interactive Might Not Be Involved in the Development of 007 First Light Sequel

007 First Light became a tremendous success for IO Interactive, as well as one of the brightest projects of 2026. The developers managed to create, perhaps, the best James Bond project, which continues to win players' hearts and top the sales charts.

Even before the release of the original game, the CEO of IO Interactive, Hakan Abrak, stated that 007 First Light could get a sequel if the fans wanted it. Considering the warm reception of the game, its financial performance, and even the ending, which directly hints at a sequel, it is most likely that a continuation is only a matter of time and resources, but a recent report has cast doubt on IO Interactive's involvement in the work.

As is known, the rights to the James Bond franchise belong to Amazon and Amazon MGM Studios, and in a new interview with Polygon, the head of Amazon Games, Jeff Gattis, hinted that future 007 First Light games, if they ever see the light of day, will not be developed by IO Interactive, since the contract with the game studio was signed before Amazon acquired the rights to the franchise. The highlights from his interview you can check out below:

“We did not. We do have a stake in it because we now own the IP. But that IP acquisition happened after the First Light IO deal was already done.

We do see this continued integration of video and movies and video games, where that line is becoming much more blurry. We think that's a real opportunity for us to create IP that extends — or kind of expands upon — TV shows and movies. So there'll be a Tomb Raider TV show on Prime Video that'll go alongside the games. There's a lot of things we have in the works on new games that'll relate to Prime Video IP.

This is where we've kind of made some bets on first-party content."

Such a statement caused a mixed reaction among fans. IO Interactive managed to create a truly high-quality product, and they are worried that Amazon might potentially hand over the development of the sequel to another studio that does not have extensive experience in creating large AAA projects. However, such a move actually makes sense, since IO Interactive, as was recently announced, will return to active development of its online project - Project Fantasy, as well as a new part of Hitman. Nevertheless, Amazon also does not rule out the possibility that the agreement with the game studio will be extended in the near future.

As for the ongoing financial success of 007 First Light, a new report from Alinea Analytics confirmed that the game has already sold 2.2 million copies across all platforms, with more than 50% of sales attributed to the PlayStation 5. The game's revenue to date has reached $150 million, which is almost equal to its budget. According to a recent report, the costs of 007 First Fight amounted to $200 million, making the game the most expensive project ever released in Denmark.

Are you concerned that the potential sequel for 007 First Light might not be developed by IO Interactive? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The game is now available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5—the version for Nintendo Switch 2 will be available later in 2026.