Draft:Project 007
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| Project 007 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | IO Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | IO Interactive |
| Series | James Bond |
| Engine | Glacier Engine |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Switch 2 |
| Genre(s) | Stealth action game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Project 007 (code name) is an upcoming stealth action game developed and published by IO Interactive under license from Amazon MGM Studios and Eon Productions. Based on the James Bond franchise, it will tell an original narrative inspired by the novels and short stories by Ian Fleming, and the long-running film franchise starring the character. The game will depict James Bond's origin story, as he embarks on the mission he must complete to earn his licence to kill. It is set to be released on Nintendo Switch 2.
Following the release of 007 Legends in October 2012, publisher Activision had its non-exclusive licence to produce James Bond video games revoked by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, resulting in a seven-year hiatus for video games adapting the franchise. MGM, Eon and IO Interactive announced the development of a new James Bond game in November 2020. The game entered in full production at IOI following the completion of Hitman 3 (2021).
Premise
[edit]Setting and characters
[edit]Project 007 will depict an original narrative that draws inspiration from the novels and short stories by Ian Fleming and the long-running film franchise featuring the character.[1] The story will follow a young, inexperienced James Bond, an MI6 agent who is tasked with a mission that when completed successfully, will grant him his 00 status.[2][3]
Development
[edit]Background
[edit]Following the critical and commercial failure of 007 Legends (2012), a commemorative James Bond video game celebrating the franchise's 50th anniversary and the theatrical release of the 23rd official installment in the film series, Skyfall (2012), publisher Activision had its non-exclusive license to produce video games using the James Bond IP revoked by Eon Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in January 2013. This development also led to the subsequent delisting of the publisher's entire slate of currently available James Bond games, also including 007: Quantum of Solace (2008), James Bond 007: Blood Stone, and the remake of GoldenEye 007 (both 2010).[4][5]
Since Activision's departure from the franchise, numerous developers expressed interest in producing their own titles with the license. Telltale Games president and co-founder Kevin Bruner stated his wish to inherit the IP as a future project, and producing a game that would pivot away from the action-heavy focus of prior Bond titles while emphasizing espionage.[6] Rumors emerged in June 2017 that Telltale was developing an episodic game titled 007: Solstice, but were dismissed when the publisher filed for bankruptcy in November 2018.[7] Curve Games president Dominic Wheatley similarly reciprocated a desire to develop a James Bond game in 2019, believing that opportunities to adapt external properties were gradually being overlooked by larger publishers who were less willing to promote franchises they didn't own.[8]
In 2016, Traveller's Tales attempted to pitch a Lego video game adapting the film series to The Lego Group, who ultimately passed on the project feeling as if the mature tone and explicit depictions of violence and sexuality in the series, did not suit the comparatively younger audience for Lego games.[9] An internally produced trailer for the game under the codename "Gold", which showed a sizzle reel of recreated moments from the Bond films, was leaked in December 2024 and corroborated by former TT Games tech director Paul Hughes.[10][11]
Development
[edit]Hitman series developer IO Interactive met with Eon Productions to pitch their own vision for a James Bond video game as they were developing Hitman 3 (2021). According to company president Hakan Abrak, the studio was under the impression that "[Eon] were not looking for a game," having grown dissatisfied with the action-oriented style and gameplay of the latest console Bond games under Activision.[12] Chief creative officer Christian Elverdam stated that a move away from relying on weapons to complete missions was an integral part of the studio's pitch to Eon, citing their work on Hitman as a game where violent solutions were actively discouraged, as an example of how Eon were convinced by IO Interactive that there was a "sophistication" in how the developers apporoached espionage gameplay.[13]
The developer also emphasized their interest in pursuing an original interpretation of James Bond divorced from any of the prior literary and cinematic incarnations of the character, as they wished to apply a similar effort to creating their own narrative for an existing IP as they did for any of their original projects and characters.[14] This includes the likeness of James Bond himself, which will not be derived from any of the actors to portray him on film, a first for the character in a playable capacity since James Bond 007: Nightfire (2002).[15]
Elverdam was also excited at the prospect of having a version of James Bond produced from the ground up for gaming, remarking on how it removed expectations that their version of the character would have to adhere to characteristics of pre-existing iterations while also being a take on the property "gamers can call their own." He additionally recalled a trip the development team made to Pinewood Studios during production of No Time to Die (2021), which instilled the "gravity" of taking on the Bond license.[16] According to Abrak, the idea of depicting James Bond's origin and efforts to claim his licence to kill, an event only definitively and briefly portrayed in the opening of the Daniel Craig film Casino Royale (2006), was enthusiastically received between IO Interactive and Eon, who were both receptive to the idea of a narrative that is "completely beginning and becoming a story" as opposed to directly adapting the plot of an existing Bond film.[17]
Release
[edit]IO Interactive held a livestream on November 19, 2020 to announce their next game following the then-upcoming Hitman 3 (2021),[18] which concluded with the unveiling of Project 007, a new James Bond video game with an original story developed and published by IOI, in collaboration with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon Productions.[19] The announcement coincided with the official start of development at IOI's Denmark and Sweden studios.[20] The game is being developed on the Glacier Engine for "modern systems and platforms."[21] The game was confirmed to be launching on Nintendo Switch 2 during the April 2025 installment of Nintendo Direct.[22]
Future
[edit]IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak expressed in an interview with IGN that he wished for Project 007 to lead into a potential trilogy of James Bond video games for the publisher, citing the decision to create a new, younger version of the character for gaming audiences to "call their own and grow with."[23] Abrak previously wished to progress their James Bond narrative through "multiple" games in a similar fashion to the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy (2016-2021), stating that such an ambition motivated them to pursue a licensing deal after previously rejecting offers for other video games using external properties.[24]
References
[edit]- ^ Tassi, Paul. "'Hitman' Developer Is Making 'Project 007,' A James Bond Origin Story". Forbes. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "Next James Bond Game Will Focus On A "Young" Bond, Aims To Launch New Trilogy". GameSpot. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ Briscuso, Lex (April 2, 2025). "James Bond Origin Story Game Project 007 Officially Coming to Nintendo Switch 2". IGN. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "Game Over For Activision". MI6-HQ.COM. January 7, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ Sin, Brian (February 20, 2013). "Activision Is Pulling Away From Licensed Games". SlashGear. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ Reilly, Luke (January 8, 2014). "Telltale President Keen to Make a James Bond Game". IGN. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ "007 Solstice - The next chapter in James Bond video games". MI6-HQ.COM. June 4, 2017. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Dring, Christopher (May 15, 2019). "Curve Digital: We could make a cracking James Bond tie-in game". MCV. ISSN 1469-4832. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ "Lego James Bond Pitch Video Leaks Online, Shows Fans What Might Have Been". IGN. December 2, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ "A Pitch Video For A Lego James Bond Game Has Leaked". Kotaku. December 5, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Blake, Vikki (December 1, 2024). "Here's a minute-long tease of the Lego James Bond game we never had". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Fillari, Alessandro (November 7, 2023). "Before Project 007 was greenlit, the Hitman studio had to convince the James Bond rights-holders to give video game adaptations another shot: "They were not looking for a game"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Spencer, Alex (January 4, 2024). "From Hitman to 007 and everything between – Edge magazine goes behind the scenes with IO Interactive". GamesRadar+. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Barnett, Brian (April 5, 2021). "Hitman Dev's James Bond Game Is an Original Story Drawing From the Franchise's Entire History – IGN Unfiltered". IGN. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Oloman, Jordan (January 26, 2021). "Hitman Developer's James Bond Won't Be Based on Any Previous Actor". IGN. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ Purchese, Robert (March 16, 2023). "Hitman studio IO opens up a little about its James Bond 007 game". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Bailey, Kat (October 16, 2024). "Project 007 Is a 'Young Bond for Gamers' and Hopefully the Start of a New Trilogy, IO Interactive Boss Says". IGN. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (November 18, 2020). "Hitman studio IO Interactive will reveal a new project tomorrow morning". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Ruppert, Liana. "IO Interactive's New Game Is A 007 James Bond Origins Story". Game Informer. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ "Announcing Project 007". IO Interactive. November 19, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Barker, Sammy (November 19, 2020). "Project 007 Targeting Modern Systems, Will Run on Glacier Engine". Push Square. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Kennedy, Victoria (April 2, 2025). "IOI's James Bond game confirmed for Switch 2". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Tailby, Stephen (October 17, 2024). "IO Interactive's Project 007 to Feature a 'Young Bond for Gamers' with a View to a Trilogy". Push Square. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ Stanton, Rich (November 9, 2023). "IO got the 007 license because it wants to make 'multiple Bond games' in the same way it handled Hitman". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 22, 2025.