007 First Light Ditches Bond's Sexism, Keeps Flirting

Every James Bond film, with the possible exception of Quantum of Solace, has a romance subplot. It's as essential to the formula as the Aston Martin, the martini, and the villain monologue. So when IO Interactive set out to build 007 First Light from the ground up as an original Bond origin story, the studio had to answer a question that's dogged the franchise for decades: how do you keep Bond's charm without dragging along his worst impulses?

Narrative and cinematic director Martin Emborg addressed the issue in a recent interview with Eurogamer, and his answer was refreshingly straightforward. "When you look at all the films and all the interpretations, also in games and other media, it's always seen through the lens of the decade that it's made in," Emborg said. "So it's our time to look at this character and see what does it take to save the world in 2026? And some things fall by the wayside and some things are more important than ever."

Translation: the casual sexism is out. The flirting stays.

Emborg was coy when pressed on specifics, pointing reporters back to the game's trailers rather than spelling things out. Having gone through them, the hints are there but restrained. In the announcement trailer, there's a brief shot of Bond on a yacht as a woman sashays toward him. In the story trailer, a poolside scene features a woman in a swimsuit telling Bond, "You seem the kind of guy who knows what he likes." IO even used that screenshot in promotional materials, which feels like a deliberate signal about the tone they're going for: suggestive, not exploitative.

The woman in question is Miss Roth, a French intelligence agent who Bond teams up with to track down the rogue agent 009. She appears across multiple trailers, at galas, in car chases, and in quieter moments that strongly suggest she's a love interest. "Beautiful women are there," Emborg said. "He's a young man, he's got game, and he's very cool."

A 60-Year Tightrope

This is the right call, and I think IO knows it. Ian Fleming wrote Bond in the 1950s and 60s, and the character's attitudes toward women were a product of that era. Watching Sean Connery's Bond in 2026 is a masterclass in cringing. Even the films acknowledged this; Judi Dench's M called Bond a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur" back in GoldenEye in 1995, and that was over 30 years ago. What works as a two-hour film where Bond is a figure you observe becomes a very different proposition in a game where Bond is a character you inhabit for dozens of hours. Nobody wants to spend 20 hours roleplaying someone who treats half the cast like set dressing.

The Daniel Craig era already started this modernization process on film, and IO seems to be continuing it with confidence rather than anxiety. Emborg acknowledged that "people are worried about that kind of thing" but didn't sound worried himself. "I can't wait for people to play the game and experience the character, because everything we've done in creating this game has been to give you the richest, truest Bond that we can possibly make."

I'm curious to see how this plays in practice. IO Interactive has spent six years building this game, and the studio has gone deep on authenticity in every other department. They've documented the watch Bond will wear, the Aston Martin he'll drive, even secured Lana Del Rey to record the Bond theme. If they've put that level of care into the character's emotional register, this could be the version of Bond that finally makes the franchise feel like it belongs in the current decade rather than apologizing for the last six.

007 First Light launches May 27 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with early access for pre-orders beginning May 26. According to the game's official account on X, it's a global simultaneous launch at 3 PM BST. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is planned for a later date. Irish actor Patrick Gibson plays Bond in what IO has described as an original origin story detailing how he earned his 007 designation.