While IO Interactive has previously revealed that 007: First Light will still be different from its Hitman series despite also sharing quite a few similarities, the studio’s CEO, Hakan Abrak, has indicated that the Bond game might also get Elusive Target-styled limited-time missions.
In an interview with The Game Business, Abrak spoke about how IO Interactive already has experience in doing this kind of thing with the Hitman titles, and how the studio wants to expand on its single-player offerings through post-launch content.
“We obviously have tons of experience now from World of Assassination, and tons of experience on how to extend a single-player experience by giving desirable free content to players,” said Abrak. “The first objective with 007 First light is to come out with the best possible, most impactful journey for gamers. Again, without giving too much detail, you could expect that we’ll be applying some of our learnings from World of Assassination to Bond.”
For context, the Hitman trilogy – currently available as Hitman World of Assassination – features limited-time Elusive Target missions where players can only attempt the mission once, and success is rewarded with unique equipment. These Elusive Target missions are often cycled in and out as time goes on. The most recent Elusive Target, for instance, was Casino Royale’s Le Chiffre, once more portrayed by actor Mads Mikkelsen.
“That gives us more challenges to play with,” added Abrak. “In Hitman, you have these live challenges. And besides the things that we are able to do in Hitman, we can do more actiony things and more kinetic challenges in Bond.”
Earlier this month, franchise director Jonathan Lacaille spoke about how IO Interactive wants to strike a balance between systems-based gameplay that Hitman is famous for, with the action gameplay one would expect from a game based on James Bond.
“It’s either or,” Lacaille said, referring to action-packed gameplay and Hitman-styled systemic gameplay. “IOI has a pedigree, and that fits really well on IP, so we are leaning into that, of course. But that would not tell the full story of who Bond is.”
“We are leaning a lot on what IOI does best, but we had to come up with a lot of new things that IOI had to learn and to reiterate on to really bring the full Bond experience,” Lacaille continued. “For instance, driving, not done that before, and we’re doing that now.”
Lacaille also spoke about how the studio is reimagining how it handles how players tackle situations in 007: First Light. Rather than in Hitman where having to pull out a gun is considered a “failing condition”, 007: First Light will instead reward action gameplay just as well as it does stealth.
“Shooting usually was a failing condition in Hitman, and here it’s a big part of the game,” explained Lacaille. “We don’t want the game to just go by shooting and shooting and shooting. So we want to give the player a lot of tools to feel as smart as Bond in the game.”
007: First Light is in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and will be coming out in 2026.
