IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak has provided new insights into Project 007, the highly anticipated James Bond project from the creators of Hitman, revealing that the game will focus on a “James Bond origin story.”
Abrak shared that development is progressing “amazingly well,” and more information will be revealed soon.
In an interview with IGN, part of the discussion surrounding today’s MindsEye publishing deal, Abrak confirmed that IO Interactive is fully developing, publishing, and funding Project 007. He hinted at “a lot of cool stuff coming up” for the project.
Reflecting on the studio’s extensive experience, Abrak stated, “We absolutely feel like 20-plus years of training for the agent fantasy, creating an agent that travels the world and globetrotting whatnot, has given us some know-how on that.
But obviously James Bond is a different IP. It’s a huge IP. It’s not our IP. It’s actually the first IP that is not our original IP from the ground up.”
Abrak expressed excitement about the creative freedom IO Interactive has with the project, explaining that they have developed an entirely original story.
“It’s not a gamification of a movie. It’s completely beginning and becoming a story, hopefully for a big trilogy out there in the future. And equally important and exciting, it’s a new Bond. It’s a Bond we built from the ground up for gamers.
It’s extremely exciting with all the tradition and all the history there is, working together to create a young Bond for gamers—a Bond that gamers can call their own and grow with.”
IO Interactive, known for its success in the stealth genre with the Hitman series, has become famous for its open-ended design and signature dark humor.
Despite initial hesitations from the owners of the James Bond IP, given the mixed track record of 007 games outside of GoldenEye, IO Interactive managed to convince them of the studio’s vision.
While the Hitman series is currently on hold as the studio shifts its focus to other projects, IO Interactive did release a compilation of the Hitman trilogy, World of Assassination, in 2023.
Abrak emphasized that the James Bond franchise remains “extremely powerful.” Since IO Interactive’s announcement of the Bond game in 2020, MGM has released No Time to Die, which served as a well-received end to Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the iconic spy.
With Craig’s departure, the film franchise is currently “between Bonds,” but Abrak reassured that the Bond license remains potent.
“When we look at the movies, it’s one of the top three IPs out there. It’s extremely powerful also because it’s been, what, almost 15 years since the last game.
So it’s been a long time. It definitely is something that is not overexposed in gaming. We actually see that as a strength that we can do something very special,” Abrak explained.
He acknowledged the legacy as a beloved Bond game, stating, “I don’t want to speak too big about it, but I just hope we’ll do a thing that will define James Bond in gaming for years to come.
And that is not only one game, but that we create a universe for gamers to own for many years to come, that we can grow with next to the Bond in the movies.”
Abrak praised the filmmakers for successfully reinventing Bond over the years and keeping the IP relevant, noting that IO Interactive faces “big, big shoes to fill.”
Like the enigmatic nature of James Bond himself, details about Project 007 remain scarce for now. However, Abrak promised more updates are on the horizon.
“I don’t have an update today, but believe me, it’s itching here as well to be talking about it soon. So we are following our plans. The production’s going amazingly well, and we will soon be talking more about it.
I know it was a little teaser, not a lot of information, but there’s a lot of cool stuff coming up,” Abrak concluded. “We are also very excited, and when we are ready with that, we’ll be opening up.”
