Hitman developer IO Interactive was given the reins for a new James Bond video game, and the result already looks like one of 2026’s most exciting releases. A 36-minute presentation of 007 First Light provided a first look at how the Copenhagen-based studio is reimagining pop culture’s most enduring spy for modern consoles, and it’s got it all: stealth, fisticuffs, shootouts, and even the ability to use Bond’s silver tongue to escape sticky situations.
But this impressive preview is more than a return for James Bond, a character whose legacy in gaming precedes him. It also marks the return of an action subgenre that feels woefully underrepresented today.
The spy game was once a mainstay, and it's easy to understand why. When seemingly every action game put you in the shoes of a “shoot first, ask questions later”-style commando, it became a novelty for games to let you take a more thoughtful approach. Giving the player a handful of situational skills and gadgets was much more interesting than handing them an AK-47 and telling them to clear the screen. 1987’s Metal Gear and its direct sequels created the blueprint, one that culminated in 1998’s Metal Gear Solid.
Hideo Kojima’s stealth action series wasn’t the only game to define the subgenre. 1997’s now-legendary shooter GoldenEye is mostly remembered for its competitive multiplayer modes, but it also deserves credit for delivering on the fantasy of being an MI6 agent behind enemy lines, completing impossible missions. Developer Rare would perfect this formula with 2000’s Perfect Dark, an underrated N64 classic that improved on Bond’s beloved video game in every way imaginable.
These two titles provided the foundation for a glut of excellent spy games in the 2000s. Metal Gear Solid’s groundbreaking success brought about worthy competitors in games like Sony’s Syphon Filter and Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell franchise. Monolith Production’s No One Lives Forever nailed the feel of 1960s espionage thrillers with its fun, tongue-in-cheek tone. More Bond games would explore newer parts of the spy fantasy with car combat games and big-budget productions set in the film canon. Metal Gear and Perfect Dark both got sequels.
By the 2010s, however, the genre had ground to an abrupt halt. Ubisoft’s interest in Splinter Cell dissolved after 2013’s Blacklist, while Metal Gear Solid petered out after Kojima’s relationship with Konami soured in 2015. Ironically, IO’s Hitman trilogy carried the torch thanks to its chic presentation and intriguing underworld of secret agencies and international crime syndicates.
Sparks of hope in the 2020s ultimately went nowhere. Microsoft created an entire studio to deliver a Perfect Dark reboot, only to shut the studio down earlier this year. Ubisoft promised a Splinter Cell remake, then made fans wait nearly half a decade for any new information. And while CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty offered the best spy story of the last decade, it was a relatively minor part of a massive, open-world role-playing game.
With the spy game genre now a wasteland, IO Interactive’s premiere is a First Light at the end of a dark tunnel. What was shown leans heavily on Hitman’s award-winning foundation, but it doubles down on everything one would expect from Ian Fleming’s seminal book series and the countless movies, TV shows, and video games it inspired.
Spy games deserve to be ever-present, and James Bond’s newest is a promising opening salvo for a grand return. And after such a long hiatus, this genre feels as refreshing as it's ever been.
