Hitman developer IO Interactive revealed in November 2020 that it's developing a new game starring the unmistakable British spy, James Bond, with the working title Project 007.
The upcoming title will be completely outside of the Hitman universe and IO Interactive is collaborating with film production entities EON Productions and MGM. It will be the first James Bond video game to be released since Activision's poorly-received 2012 launch of 007 Legends, which ultimately lost the publisher the 007 license months after its launch. That's how bad the game was. But IO Interactive will seemingly breathe new life into the franchise in the world of gaming.
James Bond games have a bit of a tainted history outside of the universally loved GoldenEye Nintendo 64 game, but IO Interactive's 20 years of experience developing the stealth franchise Hitman seems to lend itself well towards creating a game about everyone's favorite superspy. CEO of IO Interactive Hakan Abrak even went as far as saying that it will be the studio's most monumental undertaking to date.
"Our passionate team is excited to unleash their creativity into the iconic James Bond universe and craft the most ambitious game in the history of our studio," he states in a press release.
With Hitman 3 now out in the world, it’s full steam ahead on Project 007 ... or at least half-speed ahead. Here’s all of the latest information about the James Bond project.
When is the Project 007 release date?
IO Interactive did not announce when Project 007 will be released, but it did confirm that the title is in "active development."
Considering that IO is hard at work on Hitman 3’s Seven Deadly Sins DLC, it’s unlikely that development has really kicked into high gear yet. In fact, the studio is still hiring several key roles on the project. A jobs page shows that IO is still looking for a writer, producer, and senior game designer for the project. With that in mind, even a 2022 release date seems unlikely. Assume that this won’t be coming out for a few years.
Is there a Project 007 trailer?
Yes, IO Interactive published a brief teaser trailer for Project 007 on November 19 that plays out like every James Bond intro sequence before it.
Will Project 007 be released on current- or next-gen consoles?
IO Interactive stated that it "will be made for modern systems and platforms," which presumably refers to the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Considering that the project is still likely years away, it’s unclear if PS4 and Xbox One will still be considered modern at that point.
To get a sense of where the game could land, Hitman 3 launched on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, as well as the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. IO seems to be committed to bringing its games to as many platforms as possible, so it seems likely it’ll come to the major ones in some form.
What is the Project 007 story?
Project 007 will tell the story about what made James Bond into the espionage expert action movie fans have been obsessing over for decades.
The upcoming title's press release described the game as "the very first James Bond origin story" that "will feature a wholly original Bond story exclusively as a video game."
In an interview with IGN, IO shed a little more light as to what the origin story might entail. IO CEO Hakan Abrak explains that the decision to tell a new story is built out of a desire to create a “Bond for the gaming industry.”
“Every Bond kind of defines a generation and it's amazing how they kept reinventing themselves over so many years,” Abrak tells IGN. “So, we're not only inspired by one movie, or games and whatnot. We're inspired by the whole thing, and just sucking things into us to make an original Bond, an original story, but that is absolutely true and recognizable in the values there is in Bond.”
When will we find out more about Project 007?
IO Interactive didn't specify when it will have more to say about Project 007. Considering that IO is still focused on Hitman 3 for the rest of 2021, we may not get an update until next year at the earliest. Interested gamers can head to the game's website to sign up for email notifications for the latest information.
What other James Bond games have been released?
Bond has over three decades of video game appearances, including the 8-bit James Bond 007, the critically acclaimed GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo's N64, and most recent 007 Legends on PS3 and Xbox 360.
The spy's licensing has been passed around to heavy-weight publishers throughout the years. Nintendo held it during the 1990s, Electronics Arts took over in the early 2000s, and Activision had it between 2006 and 2013.
The more modern releases have fallen out of favor with gamers but IO Interactive has the chance to have the international spy make a comeback.
Project 007 is in active development.
