CEO of IO Interactive, Hakan Abrak, has said that we could potentially see a sequel to 007: First Light depending on how well the game sells. In an interview with The Game Business, Abrak spoke about the relationship between the studio and James Bond IP owner Amazon, and how the two companies like to focus on quality.
“There’s always some settling to do,” said Abrak about first working with Amazon for 007: First Light. “There are new people that you have to talk to. But when that change happened, they were very, very impressed with what we had at that point already. And we just got into the collaboration, with all the beats and planning we had to do for the marketing.”
“One constant partner from MGM, and MGM Amazon now, has been our executive producer from the other side. He’s been there from day one and is still here, and he’s been a pivotal anchor point. But from Amazon’s side, I’ll be so bold and say, they can see it’s a great game. And having invested and taken over that IP, they obviously want to make sure that everything that comes out is great. So, once they got into it and played, they became huge supporters. And we are very grateful for that.”
As for the potential of a sequel to 007: First Light, the publication has noted that IO Interactive’s development methods usually involve making sequels at lower cost than their predecessors, as was the case with the Hitman trilogy. Ultimately, however, Abrak has said that it comes down to quality for both IO Interactive and Amazon.
“We are all about quality and to stand by what we do,” he said. “And I think Amazon is in the same place. There’s no doubt that we all want to see how this is doing. It’s not only Amazon MGM side, is also IO Interactive side. Is our character going to be well received? Is there going to be a community that likes him and wants to see more?”
“I’m so grateful given the stories we hear every day in this industry. We are so blessed that we are in a place where we can pick and choose what we want to do. So, if this goes really well and it’s a beloved thing from the community, why not?”
When it comes to the relationship between Amazon and IO Interactive, 007: First Light‘s franchise art director Rasmus Poulsen spoke about the strange discussions between the two companies that would often take place in the early stages of the game’s development. Among the subjects of these discussions was whether Bond would have a color preference for the cars he drives.
“Really weird things get discussed, right? … What colour car would Bond never drive? People think one thing, people think another thing. We go like, ‘Well, that’s a weird discussion,’” he said. “Really fun, really strange offshoots that demanded three meetings… whereas really big, tent-pole decisions,” would get settled quickly.
007: First Light is coming to PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. While the first three platforms will get it on May 27th, the Switch 2 version is set for release this Summer.
