- Interactive IO says 007 First lightThe next story expansion is “amazing.”
- Lead level designer Mattias Engström says fans are “starting to expect” post-launch content from IO Interactive games.
- Environmental artist Hilde Sunde says the positive reception has been “incredible”
IO Interactive has been teased 007 First lightUpcoming post-launch content following the game’s “unreal” reception.
Speaking with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026 following the announcement of a new story expansion, lead level designer Mattias Engström and lead environment artist Hilde Sunde talked about working on IO games long after their release, such as Hitman 3 and, in this case, first light.
According to Engström, being able to create new content for players is “very cool because it’s very rewarding for our players,” and is something IO is now well known for, unlike other studios that ship their game without further content updates.
“It doesn’t just stop,” he said, “it’s not the one and done thing, right? So, adding more content for our fans is great. I think it’s also something you’re starting to expect from IOI, right?”
“It’s in our DNA to do those kinds of things and also keep the players happy,” Sunde said. aggregate. “In Bond, we also have a lot of replayability. So if you play it once, you can do it very differently the next time and try different ways and play it again.”
“In addition, IO is a fairly large company,” continues Engström. “We can get people moving and going to other projects, and some people who may not have worked on Bond before can get going and come up with fresh new ideas and all that.”
Engström continued to tease the post-launch content, saying it will be “amazing” and “we want players to come back and we want to create more content.”
007 First light was a hit with critics and gamers alike, selling 1.5 million in its first 24 hours before reaching 2.7 million copies worldwide in its first week on all platforms.
sun she recalled the emotional response she and the team had when the reviews came in, and mentioned what it was like to hear the reception after working on first light for six years of the game’s seven-year development cycle.
“A lot of blood, sweat and tears have been put into this,” the developer said. “We really wanted to nail down the Bond fantasy and do everything right, and right up until launch, when you’ve worked on a game over that long journey, and I think you’re going to launch something that’s very dear to us. [Bond] Fans, you really want to do it right.
“And then when we got the reviews, people were crying, we were hugging, we seemed unreal. I was in shock. I’m still in shock. I mean, I knew the game was good, but you’re not prepared for it. It feels great for everyone who has worked so hard on this at IOI and for all the other people we’ve collaborated with on this.
“It’s been just incredible. I still don’t believe it. I’m throwing my arm out there.”
007 First light It is now available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is scheduled to launch sometime this year.
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