- Hakan Abrak, CEO of IO Interactive, has said that 007 First Light is “definitely not a reskin of Hitman” and will play differently to the stealth series
- The game will emphasize the action compared to Hitman‘s critical planning and stealth
- Abrak said 007 First Light will be the “ultimate Bond experience”
IO Interactive has said that 007 First Light is “definitely not a re-skin” of Hitman despite their similarities.
Speaking in a recent interview with IGN following the official reveal of the James Bond game, Hakan Abrak, CEO of IO Interactive, said that First Light will have a different tone to the Hitman series.
“It is very, very important to get the humor right. In Denmark, we love dark humor and the silliness because it takes away from the seriousness of being an assassin,” Abrak said.
“Bond is different. Bond, the humor is first of all very British. And the humor there is to support the energy and his personality, which is much more front and center. So I would say less silly. It’s not flamingo disguises, as you said, but still entertaining.”
Abrak continued, saying that 007 First Light “plays differently” from games in the Hitman series and is “emphasizing more action”, compared to Hitman‘s critical planning and stealth gameplay.
“Like there are more linear parts where you have the spectacle moments and exotic vehicles. And then we also give space in Bond to open up a bit and breathe a bit,” the CEO explained.
“It’s less of an analytical mind, chess play, where you sit and meticulously plan. All the clockwork things in Hitman where if you do this or do this, where Bond is more impulsive, more reckless sometimes. It’s more like he’s just taking things and acting and handling it more as they arise.”
It’s hard not to compare the new James Bond game to Hitman. They’re both agents, both games are third-person action games that take players around the globe to take on various missions. However, Abrak has promised that 007 First Light is not a copy-paste of Hitman and is the “ultimate Bond experience.”
“So it’s a different dynamism, because we want to make something that feels true for a Bond fantasy,” Abrak explained. “So it’s definitely not a reskin of a Hitman kind of thing, but I feel that people will see IO Interactive, that is a game made by Interactive, but they will also see that this game is something else. It’s something that’s true to what we are hopefully going to deliver 360, an ultimate Bond experience.”
007 First Light is set to launch in 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.
The action game will follow a 26-year-old James Bond, played by actor Patrick Gibson, in a re-imagined origin story that led him to become MI6’s best agent.
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