007 First Light Game Director, Hakan Abrak, has revealed during an interview with IGN that it was able to secure the license to the game by using a demo that placed Daniel Craig’s likeness over the body of Agent 47.
Abrak revealed that IO Interactive used Hitman’s Sapienza level for demo purposes to give idea of how its James Bond game would work, albeit with Daniel Craig running around the stage instead of the bald assassin.
We actually did put Daniel Craig in there. We just modeled his head and put it in instead of Agent 47, just for demo purposes, giving an impression of what these living, breathing spaces mean in an IO game. And if you are acquainted with the franchise, there is a level called Sapienza with the virus in the caves underneath the compound. So we showed some things off there and, yeah, it was well received.
Related Content – Upcoming PS5 Games 2025: The Best PS5 Games Coming Soon
IO opted to demo it in this way to showcase that 007 First Light is “not necessarily about only shooting and cut scenes – there’s certainly that in our game as well — but it’s also being able to explore the part of the Bond fantasy where he is in social spaces where he is using not only his fisticuffs, but also his charms and bluff and figuring out different ways in those social spaces to overcome the obstacles or get what he wants.”
007 First Light is slated for release on March 27, 2026 for PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X/S, and will receive a Legacy Edition for $299.99. As previously confirmed, 007 First Light will focus on a much younger, reckless Bond, and will brush shoulders with a number of iconic characters from the franchise such as Q, Money Penny and of course M. Due to him being just 26-years-old, the British super spy won’t be the the Martini-sipping, suave agent that we’ve become used to as depicted on the big screen.
[Source – IGN]