IO Interactive Delays James Bond Game, ‘007 First Light,’ To May 2026

Summary

• IO Interactive’s James Bond origin story, 007 First Light, has been delayed from its original March release to May 27, 2026, to allow for final “polish” and refinement
• The game features Patrick Gibson as a 26-year-old Bond and a star-studded supporting cast including Lenny Kravitz as the villainous “Pirate King” Bawma, Lennie James as mentor John Greenway, and Priyanga Burford as M
• Shifting its release date allows the title to occupy the vacancy left by Grand Theft Auto VI, which recently moved to November, giving the spy thriller a clearer window for its launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2

007 First Light, IO Interactive’s young-James-Bond blockbuster, has been pushed back roughly two months, from March 27 to May 27, 2026, giving the studio extra room to fine-tune its most ambitious project yet. In a statement shared across official channels, IO says the game is “fully playable from beginning to end” and that the delay is about polish, not rescue work, promising the “strongest possible version at launch”.

The delay quietly repositions Bond on the calendar. First Light now occupies Grand Theft Auto VI’s old late-May window, turning what was once a head-to-head risk into a clearer runway for a prestige spy thriller.

Set as a reimagined Bond origin story, First Light casts Patrick Gibson as a 26-year-old recruit grinding through MI6 training toward his 00 status, with familiar pillars like M, Q and Moneypenny alongside new faces such as mentor John Greenway and the enigmatic Bawma. Gameplay leans into IO’s stealth-and-spectacle DNA. Players can go silent or loud, bouncing between Slovakia resorts and Kensington galas, juggling hand-to-hand combat, gunplay, cinematic car chases and gadget-driven infiltrations. On the style front, the project looks like a full reboot of Bond in games: an original continuity, collector’s editions, and lavish worldbuilding that folds in Aston Martin’s Valhalla supercar and a stacked cast including Lenny Kravitz as Pirate King Bawma.

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