Hitman developer IO Interactive is a master at level design, and for 007: First Light, the studio says the game will feature some of its “largest” levels to date. This week’s dedicated State of Play showed off some of that interactive level design, as viewers watched IO’s Bond work his way through a Slovakian hotel that was reminiscent of Hitman’s 2016 Parisian fashion show level with its multiple opportunities for espionage and infiltration.
“When you arrive, we dive into much more familiar territory from an IO perspective and from an audience perspective, where we have this chateau laid out before you, which then has in it everything from social gameplay up to the larger areas where you are free to roam around and utilize the width of the gameplay that we have to offer,” franchise art director Rasmus Poulsen said to GamesRadar about the Chateu mission. “I would say some of the missions in the game are the largest we’ve done in our history in terms of measurements.”
If that statement is true, then Bond fans can likely look forward to environments that they can explore for hours, given IO’s talent for creating intricate levels. The Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy had no shortage of stages to explore, with some of its largest being the superb Sapienza level, a massive section of an opulent Dubai skyscraper, and the Club 27 warehouse in Berlin. The State of Play showed just how players can adopt a 007 mindset during each mission, as Bond can use his gadgets, fists, and wits to access new areas.
007: First Light launches on March 27, 2026, for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2. In case you missed the livestream, you can check out 14 new things we learned about the James Bond game, 110 screenshots of the 007 adventure, the celebrity cast, and take a closer look at the $300 Specialist Edition that comes with a golden gun replica.
