Developer IO Interactive is celebrating after 007 First Light sold 3 million copies in less than two weeks. The studio had previously announced 2.7 million sales in the first week, but in an interview with IGN's Simon Cardy in Los Angeles yesterday, CEO Hakan Abrak revealed that the James Bond adventure game has now reached 3 million units sold since its launch on May 26. "I'm feeling absolutely amazing," Abrak said when asked about the launch. The game's success comes despite the absence of a Nintendo Switch 2 version, which is expected to arrive later this summer.
Not only has 007 First Light achieved strong sales, but it has also received critical acclaim, with a Metacritic score of 88 and a 9/10 rating from IGN. In its review, IGN stated: "Demonstrably obsessed with bringing the Bond fantasy to life in a way no one has ever managed before, 007 First Light is the best Bond game I've ever played."
Abrak shared an emotional moment from before the reviews went live, saying he gave a speech during a town hall meeting five minutes prior, telling staff that the most important thing was "not those people telling us whether we're worthy of this, it's how we feel about this… just in case things were s**t!" When the positive reviews came in, Abrak admitted he cried. "It was an extremely emotional moment. Like almost seven years. I'm just happy because the team is 10 feet tall."
007 First Light is the Danish studio's fastest-selling game, outpacing any Hitman title it has worked on. "By all measures it's freaking successful," Abrak said, confirming the game is exceeding internal expectations. "It's just going and it's fantastic," he added.
The big question now is whether 007 First Light will turn a profit for IOI. Recent reports from the Danish press claimed the game cost 1.3 billion Danish krone (approx. $200 million) to develop over seven years, making it the most expensive entertainment product in the country's history. However, Abrak cast doubt on the $200 million figure as a straightforward budget, insisting it includes various costs associated with development and release, such as big bonuses for the team, future payouts, and marketing. "So it's not the actual cost of the product. But we'll come up with all that. It's by far the most expensive one, but it's not like for the game itself, not $200 million."
Two weeks post-launch, Abrak said he is "very confident" that 007 First Light will be profitable for IOI. "There's some royalty models and whatnot around this, but we are well above our forecasts at this point," he added. With plenty more content planned, IOI has outlined the first year of post-launch content, leveraging the successful model from its Hitman World of Assassination trilogy to keep Bond relevant. "I think this is going to be a very special journey," Abrak enthused.
All eyes are now on a sequel, which 007 First Light clearly sets up. However, confusing statements from James Bond rights holder Amazon regarding the publishing of future titles (IOI self-published 007 First Light) have called the planned trilogy into question. Abrak painted a rosy picture of IOI's relationship with Amazon, stating they will issue a joint statement on what happens next soon enough. "We have a great relationship with Prime Video, where this licence collaboration is residing," Abrak said. "They're here today and we're just high fiving and having a good time. There will be information about this in the future. But for now it's just First Light 007 and just enjoying what's happening right now."
Assuming IOI gets to make a sequel, it is expected to be cheaper to develop and launch, as the developer can build on the work already done for 007 First Light. Abrak explained that the cost for each World of Assassination title decreased over time: the first Hitman (2016) cost around $78 million and took four and a half to five years; the second cost $48 million and took two and a half years; and the third cost $19 million and took 20 months, becoming the highest-rated. "So the way we develop games is like, we're not like some other developers, who are like, 'Oh, we have a hit, so it must cost us double the next one. It must be much more ambitious.' Ambition is not necessarily that it's more expensive. Ambition is, the platform you build, how do you keep giving amazing experiences from that and how do you iterate on a sequel from that in a smart way, where it's retroactively maybe lifting the first one as well, like we did with World of Assassination? Some of this approach to concept and ambition, one could think could be applied to Bond as well."
For more help, check out our 007 First Light Guide with essential tips and tricks, including 6 Tips for Mastering Stealth, all Collectible Locations, a Walkthrough, and guides to Safe Combinations and Keypad Codes.
