- IO Interactive will not self-publish any future 007 First light successors
- Amazon Game Studios will handle publishing now that Amazon owns the Bond IP
- Amazon Gaming general manager Jeff Gattis says the sequels will be “made by MGM and theoretically by Amazon Game Studios.”
Amazon Gaming has confirmed that Amazon Game Studios will handle the release of any future 007 First light successors.
007 First light has been a roaring success for IO Interactive, selling 1.5 million copies in its first 24 hours, a milestone reached faster than any of the studio’s Hitman game.
Sequels are a high possibility at this point, but according to Amazon Gaming general manager Jeff Gattis, IO Interactive will not self-publish them.
“We didn’t [make First Light],” Gattis told Polygon. “We have a stake in it because we now own the IP address, but that IP takeover happened after First light The IO agreement had already been concluded.”
GM explained that while Amazon “didn’t have the full rights to this First light The James Bond game,” sequels will be “made by MGM and, theoretically, by Amazon Game Studios.”
IOI began to develop 007 First light when the Bond franchise was under the control of MGM and EON Productions; However, Amazon bought MGM in 2021, a year after First light was announced.
Amazon and MGM still partnered with IOI after the acquisition, but now the company is taking a more central role in potential successors.
Fans reacting to the news are worried about the future of IOI’s Bond games, with one fan on Reddit saying it sounds like Amazon “may be hinting that the sequel will be made without IO Interactive, if so, Amazon is making a big mistake.”
Another wrote: “Hopefully they’re not that foolish. IOI and Bond are a match made in heaven. I’ve barely started First Light and it’s been great so far. This could be a scenario where Amazon wants to publish the game but could keep IOI as the development studio, but I doubt it. IOI is self-publishing these days, so they might want to leave it to another good way, but it might be a good way to publish it.”
There’s a big difference between publishing and developing a game, so it’s important to note that it sounds like IO Interactive will still be the ones making Bond games, while Amazon Game Studios will fund them, which could mean the latter will have more input into the projects.
Gattis went on to say that Amazon is eager to expand into games so it can synergize with its TV shows and movies, something it could do with IO Interactive games and the company’s next James Bond movie, which is currently in the works.
“We think it’s a real opportunity for us to create IP that expands — or kind of expands — TV shows and movies,” Gattis said. “So there will be a Tomb Raider TV show on Prime Video that will go along with the games. There are a lot of things we have going on with new games that will relate to the Prime Video IP.”
Amelia Schwanke, TechRadar’s Senior Editor UK, Home Entertainment, rated 007 First light four stars in her review, calling it an “original blockbuster Bond story” that is “the closest a game has ever come to making me feel like I’m starring in a Bond film.”
“IO Interactive takes the stealth sandbox of Hitman, the intense tension of Uncharted and the experimental spycraft of Batman: Arkham, and transforms them into a globe-trotting cinematic spy thriller filled with secret missions, explosive action and cool gadgets,” said Schwanke. “While the immersion of the campaign occasionally lags, this stylish origin story still feels like a triumphant return for the most iconic secret agent.”
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
The best gaming consoles
