GameRant's 007 Week has concluded, but please use this directory to explore pieces published during the period.

IO Interactive's 007 First Light is one of 2026's most highly anticipated games, and for good reason. James Bond has been away from gaming long enough for his return to feel like a major moment, but the studio behind Hitman makes that return especially interesting. IO Interactive has already proven how much player choice, improvisation, and personality can come from a well-built stealth sandbox, so its take on Bond in 007 First Light comes with a lot of promise before it has even had a chance to fully show its hand.

That's ultimately why GameRant's 007 Week is shining a spotlight on 007 First Light, though it's not limited to one upcoming release. Bond's return is the reason for the celebration, and much of the week naturally revolves around IO Interactive's new origin story for the character. At the same time, 007 Week is also a wider celebration of spy and stealth games as a whole, including what the genre has done well, where it has struggled, which ideas deserve to come back, and why 007 First Light feels like the right game to put at the center of that conversation.

  • 007 First Light Is Fixing the Stealth Genre's Biggest Problem With One Feature

    James Bond in the shadows IO Interactive

    READ MORE: 007 First Light Is Fixing the Stealth Genre's Biggest Problem With One Feature

    007 First Light isn't just a Hitman game wearing a James Bond costume. 007 First Light is shaping up to be one of the most interesting James Bond games yet because it features plenty of Hitman's great stealth qualities while also leaning into the more action-packed elements of games like Uncharted. Hitman's stealth is the franchise's bread and butter, but it and other stealth-based series also have the issue of these mechanics sometimes getting in the way of the experience. 007 First Light might have found the perfect solution with one of its most intriguing features: the Instinct mechanic.

  • Why Every Spy Game Should Force You to Fail (And Why They Don't)

    An image of Naked Snake Hanging from the ceiling during the torture scene in MGS Delta

    READ MORE: Why Every Spy Game Should Force You to Fail (And Why They Don't)

    The stealth-action sandbox of First Light will be especially interesting to watch unfold. IO Interactive’s portfolio is primarily composed of Hitman games, which generally provide a very different sort of espionage experience: Agent 47 is, canonically at least, a tactical mastermind, able to orchestrate complex Rube-Goldberg-esque death traps when he needs to. James Bond, while often not a very complex character, features in more dynamic stories in which he doesn’t always have the upper hand. After all, what fun is a James Bond film without a 2nd act low point? For all his competence, Bond isn’t always on top, and this narrative back-and-forth is something missing from a lot of traditional spy-type video games.

  • GoldenEye 007 Is the Worst Thing to Ever Happen to James Bond Games

    An image of James Bond from 007 GoldenEye Nintendo 64

    READ MORE: GoldenEye 007 Is the Worst Thing to Ever Happen to James Bond Games

    It may look archaic by modern standards, but GoldenEye 007 was a revelation when it first launched. Inspired by MS-DOS games like Doom and Quake, GoldenEye took the burgeoning FPS genre in a new, more grounded direction. It’s a loose adaptation of the Pierce Brosnan Bond film of the same name, and as such, it features more dynamic, narrative-driven gameplay, as opposed to something like Doom, which is highly stylized and almost solely action-oriented. Multiplayer was a huge boon for GoldenEye as well, as it helped it retain a more dedicated, long-lasting following for years after its release. All in all, it’s generally considered one of the best, most influential shooters of all time. But if you look at its legacy and impact with respect to Bond games specifically, the damage it’s done becomes clear.

  • Why Detective Mode Was the Worst Thing to Happen to Stealth Games

    The player using Detective Mode in Batman Arkham Asylum with an overlay of Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

    READ MORE: Why Detective Mode Was the Worst Thing to Happen to Stealth Games

    This feature goes by many different names, but it’s usually referred to by the umbrella term Detective Mode, which is what it’s called in the Batman: Arkham games. Rocksteady’s version of this system is the most iconic for a reason: it’s arguably the most in-depth. In these games, using Detective Mode is a surefire way to take your experience from meaningfully difficult to trivially easy, as every interactable, point of interest, and enemy combatant is highlighted in vivid detail, removing just about any ambiguity. This kind of makes sense for The World’s Greatest Detective, I admit, but it’s seeped into the broader stealth space in a way that tends to undermine rather than enrich.

  • 007 First Light Looks Ready to Finish What Obsidian's Forgotten Spy RPG Started

    007 First Light Obsidian Forgotten Spy RPG

    READ MORE: 007 First Light Looks Ready to Finish What Obsidian's Forgotten Spy RPG Started

    007 First Light feels like it could be such a natural spiritual successor to Alpha Protocol, even if it's not an RPG in the same way. IO Interactive's Creative Approach philosophy is built around giving players different ways to solve problems through Instinct, gadgets, and combat, and that already feels closer to the spy fantasy that Alpha Protocol was going for. However, the question is whether 007 First Light can take that fantasy and polish it into something that Alpha Protocol never fully realized.

  • 007 First Light Producer Addresses Pressure of Following GoldenEye's Legacy

    James Bond 007 first light overlayed on GoldenEye poster GameRant | Image sources: IO Interactive/Rare

    READ MORE: 007 First Light Producer Addresses Pressure of Following GoldenEye's Legacy

    Between the novels, film series, and TV spin-offs, there is a ton of Bond content out in the world. Bond and his antics may be most well-known through the films and books he is featured in, but the character has also starred in plenty of video game adaptations. The James Bond games haven't always been the best way to experience the franchise, but GoldenEye remains the quintessential Bond game for longtime fans and gamers. The game is nearly 30 years old now, and another James Bond game has yet to boast the same reputation that it does. Trying to escape from the shadow of GoldenEye can't be easy, and 007 First Light Licensing Producer Theuns Smit recently had a chat with GameRant about how developer IO Interactive approached setting this new game apart from such a popular classic.

  • Don't Expect the Classic James Bond Theme Right Away in 007 First Light

    James Bond driving car IO Interactive

    READ MORE: Don't Expect the Classic James Bond Theme Right Away in 007 First Light

    Because of Bond's reputation, there are a lot of preconceived notions about the character. Whether one's a fan of Fleming's original novels or was first introduced to the character through the performances of Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, or Daniel Craig in the various film adaptations, there are many people who have their own idea of what the MI6 agent should be like. 007 First Light's version of Jame Bond is a bold departure, and IO Interactive's Senior Licensing Producer Theuns Smit recently shared with GameRant some fascinating insight into how developers approached the character.