Hitman creators IO Interactive have announced Project 007, a new original James Bond game in partnership with MGM Studios.
IOI broke the news with a teaser trailer playing upon the familiar Bond gunbarrel sequence. The game will serve as an origin story for the classic character, almost seventy years after his first published adventure.
No further details were provided at this time, in regards to inspirations or release dates. However CEO Hakan Abrak calls Project 007 “the most ambitious game in the history of our studio,” which previously developed Kane & Lynch: Dead Men and Mini Ninjas.
“Creating an original Bond game is a monumental undertaking and I truly believe that IO Interactive, working closely with our creative partners at EON and MGM, can deliver something extremely special for our players and communities,” Abrak said.
IO Interactive’s track record with espionage games, particularly the Hitman franchise, makes them a clear choice to present an origin for 007, particularly as the character was written by his creator, Ian Fleming, with a touch of the modern action hero he has become since Pierce Brosnan wore his mantle.
Project 007 will not be the first attempt to tell James Bond’s origins; Daniel Craig’s first turn as Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale previously functioned as a psuedo-origin, and Young Bond, a series of young adult novels by Charlie Higson and Steve Cole, attempted to fill in his early years. However the franchise has long dodged continuity, with most films standing independent from each other and from their literary inspirations.
This will also be the first Bond video game since 007 Legends in 2012, and the short-lived mobile title James Bond: World of Espionage in 2015. The character has had a long but rocky history in the medium, peaking with GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64.