Amazon has acquired the rights to James Bond and plans to develop future 007 agent games through its internal studios, leaving out IO Interactive, responsible for the acclaimed 007 First Light. The decision raises doubts among fans about the direction of the franchise, which could align with its series and movies. The expectation is that they will maintain the character's spirit in future installments.
Technical development: engines and licenses under Amazon's control 🎮
Amazon plans to use its Open 3D Engine graphics engine for Bond games, a technology less proven in action titles than IO Interactive's Glacier. Integration with its cloud services, such as AWS, would enable persistent worlds and online elements. However, the change of engine and team involves considerable technical risk, as replicating the stealth gameplay and espionage mechanics of First Light will require complex adaptation work.
Bond, now with 24-hour delivery and Prime subscription 🍸
The good news is that you might be able to order a martini from the game with Alexa and have it arrive home before the credits roll. The bad news is that if Amazon decides to insert ads for its series in the middle of a mission, Bond will have to wait for The Lord of the Rings trailer to finish before saving the world. That said, at least the villains will use Fire TV as part of their master plan.