The critical and commercial success of 007 First Light has led to quite a bit of criticism towards Amazon due to uncertainties about potential sequels. Clearing things up, general manager of Amazon Luna and Amazon Game Studios, Jeff Gattis, has said that the door is open for IO Interactive to potentially make a new game in the franchise. In an interview with GamesIndustry, Gattis also reiterated that no discussions about a sequel have taken place.
While Amazon will likely end up publishing any sequel to 007 First Light – which was self-published by IO Interactive – Gattis also noted that the company wanted to “do what’s right by the game” when it came to its future.
“We did not confirm anything about who’s publishing or developing the next Bond sequel. Like [IO Interactive CEO] Hakan Abrak said, we haven’t even discussed it really yet. The game’s awesome. That’s great. I think it’s realistic to think that there would be a sequel. Technically, Amazon does own the rights to the game, but we’re going to do what’s right by the game; we’re not trying to bring everything into Amazon. Given the success of this one, I think you probably want IOI developing it. We’re going to do what’s right by the game; we’re not trying to bring everything into Amazon.”
“Given the success of this one, I think you probably want IOI developing it.”
Further in the interview, Gattis also provided more details about other game projects currently in the works under Amazon Game Studios. Along with generally releasing more games, the company also wants to have more cross-media properties.
“The vision for us is to get to much more of this world where you can imagine going into Prime Video and seeing a page that is much more about fandom and IP, as opposed to ‘here’s a bunch of shows’,” he explained. “So you see the Tomb Raider TV show, here’s the Tomb Raider video game, here’s Tomb Raider merchandise you can buy on Amazon.com.”
The controversy surrounding a 007 First Light sequel first came about due to Gattis saying last month that the deal for the game was signed before Amazon acquired the property. Since the company wants to take more ownership of its IP, it also wants to publish the games going forward.
He also previously tried to assuage fears that 007 First Light would be taken away from IO Interactive in favor of one of Amazon’s own in-house studios. While he didn’t commit to a sequel, he acknowledged that “the game’s doing great” before saying that “let’s let the game breathe and have its day.”
“Trust that we’re going to be smart about this. I mean, it’s market appetite. As long as we feel there’s a desire for players to have the game, it’s safe to say it’s going to be made.”
For his part, Abrak has said that IO Interactive still has more plans for 007 First Light that will be revealed down the line. In the meantime, however, no conversations about a sequel have taken place.
007 First Light is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details.
