Amazon denies fans’ hopes for more Bond adventures from IO Interactive. The company has now confirmed that future games around the secret agent will be developed by its own Amazon Game Studios – even though the current developers have just delivered a mega hit.
Why will IO Interactive not develop new Bond games? Just a few days ago, the developer studio IO Interactive, known primarily for the Hitman series, released the James Bond action game “007 First Light”. The title celebrated a strong debut with 1.5 million copies sold in the first 24 hours (via X), but the community will wait in vain for a sequel from the same developer team.
Jeff Gattis, General Manager for Gaming at Amazon, has now confirmed to Polygon that future sequels will no longer be developed by IO Interactive, but “by MGM and theoretically by the Amazon Game Studios”.
Amazon aims to secure success through existing brands
What is behind the developer switch? Gattis explains that the licensing deal with IO Interactive – which enabled 007 First Light – was agreed upon before Amazon could finalize the acquisition of the film studio MGM (and thus the James Bond rights). Although Amazon did not develop 007 First Light itself, it now has full control over the brand.
According to Gattis, Amazon is pursuing a long-term strategy that envisions a significant focus on first-party content, as it sees a “continuous merging of video, films, and video games,” where the boundaries are increasingly blurred. As an example, the Amazon manager mentioned the Tomb Raider franchise, where a series for Prime Video is being produced alongside new Lara Croft games.
For IO Interactive, this means the end of the 007 plans. The Danish studio had ambitions for a sequel, but is now focusing on a new multiplayer fantasy RPG and a likely return to the Hitman series.
Here’s how the developer switch is received: Amazon’s decision is heavily criticized in the community. One player complains on Reddit: “But… I don’t want anything made by Amazon Games. Just let it be with IO and act as a publisher.” Another user mocks: “Ahhh yes, because Amazon Games has such a good track record…”
The criticism primarily stems from the failures of Amazon Games in recent years. For example, the shooter Crucible was shut down and the shutdown of servers for the MMORPG New World was announced.
Even before the exact death date of New World was set, our MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz looked back in May 2025 at the disappointing record of Amazon as a game developer and its attempts as a publisher – as there is much more to it than just Crucible and New World. Here you can read the then interim status: Amazon has wanted to be a big player in games for 10 years, now it has to rely on The Lord of the Rings
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!