Amazon have been doing a little dance around discussions of a sequel to IO Interactive’s big hit, 007 First Light.
First, they said that any sequel would be “done by MGM and, theoretically, by Amazon Game Studios,” before changing their mind and backtracking slightly to say nothing has been decided.
“Amazon MGM holds the rights to any future James Bond video games but it’s still too early to discuss future projects. We have a great relationship with IO Interactive and are proud of what we’ve accomplished together on 007 First Light. Our partners at IO will reveal more about 007 First Light in the near future and we’re looking forward to sharing what’s next.”
In a new interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Jeff Gattis, general manager for Amazon Luna and Amazon Game Studios, seems to suggest that they might be doing a full U-turn.
“We did not confirm anything about who’s publishing or developing the next Bond sequel,” he stated. “Like Hakan [Abrak, IOI CEO] said, we haven’t even discussed it really yet. The game’s awesome. That’s great. I think it’s realistic to think that there would be a sequel. Technically, Amazon does own the rights to the game, but we’re going to do what’s right by the game, we’re not trying to bring everything into Amazon.
“Given the success of this one, I think you probably want IOI developing it,” he adds.
We should note that he only suggests IOI may develop the game, they also published First Light, so it may be that Amazon want to publish the sequel. That does mean less money for IOI, so we shall have to wait and see what sort of deal they hammer out.
Although we don’t have any up-to-date figures, IOI did say that First Light had sold 3 million copies in two weeks and was “beating the company’s internal expectations”. There’s also a Switch 2 version on the way which will bolster sales, so it is a little odd that discussions of a sequel have yet to begin.
In our 007 First Light review, Jim said, “007 First Light is an incredibly well-executed action adventure blockbuster with a truly engrossing story, slick presentation, and layered gameplay systems. It marks a major evolution for IO Interactive, thrusting the studio into that coveted top tier of video game developers. It also has us excited for the team’s future projects, whether that’s more Bond or a return to Hitman at some point down the road.”
Source: GI.Biz
