Thanks to the game being leaked ahead of launch, developer IO Interactive has been forced to publish a portion of the opening mission from its upcoming spy action game, 007 First Light, two days before its release on 27 May 2026.
Over the weekend, a now-removed video made its way onto the internet showcasing the game’s first mission, due to a number of players getting their hands on early physical copies of the game. Due to this, IOI took to its social media pages to address the leaks, posting an official look at the first 13 minutes of gameplay, something that was initially intended to be posted on day one of the game’s launch.
Without spoiling too much, the game’s opening mission sees Patrick Gibson’s young Bond being stranded in the ocean after his helicopter is shot down, prompting a sequence that invokes the same feeling of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid games as he sneaks past guards while navigating rocky terrain. The notably less experienced nature of Bond in this segment does hint that this takes place much earlier in his life, and while the gameplay clip doesn’t cover the entirety of the game’s first mission, this might very well be the turning point that leads him down the path to become the iconic 007 agent fans know and love.
While the leak and IOI’s eventual early gameplay reveal might have spoiled the excitement for some, it also offers an unintended snippet of information regarding the game’s physical copies and just how little actual data is on it. Those who got their hands on the early copies were only able to leak the game’s opening mission, as that was the only part of the game they had access to without the means to download further data, meaning that at launch, those who purchased physical discs might still need to download a substantial portion of the game, which doesn’t bode well for players without access to decent internet connection, so those looking to purchase the game’s physical copy in hopes of getting past the need to download the game might need to take note of this limitation.
007 First Light launches on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on 27 May 2026, with those who pre-ordered the game getting access to a free Deluxe Edition upgrade, alongside a one-day early access launch. The game is also set to arrive on the Nintendo Switch 2 at a later date.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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