Any future video games featuring James Bond will not be published by IO Interactive, an Amazon gaming executive has stated.
IO Interactive developed and self-published 007 First Light last month, after initially announcing the game as Project 007 back in November 2020.
Six months after this announcement, Amazon acquired MGM, including its catalogue of more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV shows (including the existing Bond movies).
Then, in February 2025, Amazon MGM Studios announced that it had acquired “creative control” of the Bond franchise after striking a deal with IP owners Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.
Some have therefore questioned whether IO Interactive will be able to publish another Bond game, especially given that 007 First Light has been a success with 1.5 million copies sold in its first day, making it IO’s fastest-selling game ever.
In an interview with Polygon, Amazon’s GM of gaming Jeff Gattis has now seemingly confirmed that it will be handling the publishing duties on all future James Bond titles going forward.
“We did not [make First Light],” Gattis explained. “We do have a stake in it because we now own the IP, but that IP acquisition happened after the First Light IO deal was already done.”
While Amazon “didn’t have the full rights to this First Light James Bond game”, however, any future games will be “done by MGM and, theoretically, by Amazon Game Studios“, Gattis said.
It should be noted that this doesn’t necessarily mean IO Interactive won’t be working on any future Bond titles, such as a sequel to 007 First Light – it only means IO wouldn’t be self-publishing them.
IO could still theoretically strike a deal with Amazon that would see the Danish studio developing a sequel to First Light, but with Amazon publishing it instead of IO.
VGC’s 007 First Light review calls it “a bona fide classic”, stressing that it’s “no Hitman game with a James Bond skin”.
“The way IOI has translated the Bond fantasy into a 14-hour globetrotting epic is masterful,” we said. “It’s a game full of spectacle, humour, action, and romance. Everything James Bond should be. New Bond owners Amazon must ensure this franchise continues.”
