007 First Light may not be the game with the highest production quality this year, but it is likely one of the most enjoyable experiences of the year. Especially for many old film fans, playing as Bond is a dream come true since childhood—traveling the world, encountering adventures, and casually striking down evil. The old-school spy narrative spanning more than half a century remains effective.
Of course, the game doesn't portray Bond as a naturally perfect agent but places him back in MI6's training grounds: growing from a green recruit, with missions stretching from the streets of London to hotels in Slovakia, the wastelands of Mauritania, the coasts of Vietnam, and finally the ice fields of Antarctica. Each location is like a door to anywhere; push it open, and a grand adventure begins.
Among them, the mysterious Isola can be considered his guide: dangerous, charming, willing to lead Bond, but also ready to teach him a lesson at any time. She is arguably the linchpin that makes this "Rookie 007" story coherent, and one of the key factors in establishing this new generation of Bond.
So I was excited to take the opportunity of "Tokyo Game Show 2026" to meet with IO Interactive's Brand Manager, Technical Director, and Nozomi Nakai, the actress who plays Isola, from the developer of 007 First Light. We discussed plans after the game's release, interesting anecdotes from the actor's motion capture shooting process, and how the actors and team collaborated to deliver a "007-style" gaming experience. The responses and enthusiasm from IO Interactive and Nozomi Nakai left a deep impression on me.
Below is the content of this interview, with answers from the IOI team merged.
Q: Since the release of 007 First Light, you've been keeping an eye on global player discussions regarding gameplay, story, collectibles, and more. Could you share which feedback was expected and which came as a complete surprise?
IO Interactive:We poured quite a lot of love and energy into 007 First Light, and of course, we hoped it would receive praise from players and media. But the feedback from the community and players exceeded our most optimistic expectations. Describing it as "pleasantly overwhelmed" is apt—everyone was generous with their praise, and we are very grateful.
Another unexpected point is that many players had never played the "Hitman" series before. "Hitman" is a very core-oriented and special game series, and my grandmother doesn't know "Hitman." But everyone knows James Bond. Even many people who don't play games—such as those who saw the Coca-Cola cans printed with this game—came to talk to us about 007 First Light. Positive feedback from outside the player community was a big surprise for us.
Q: Many fans see 007 First Light as the beginning of a new series, and there are many rumors online about copyright ownership, so we'd like to confirm—is there still a chance for a sequel? Players are looking forward to it very much.
IO Interactive:We often hear voices like this, with everyone hoping we'll hurry up and make the next installment. But for now, a sequel is not on the agenda; we are putting all our energy into 007 First Light. After release, we announced the "Year One" roadmap, clarifying the major content players can look forward to in the future—the Aston Martin Valhalla will return, along with new game modes, New Game+, Photo Mode, and Pirate King Bawma will also return... These are all announced plans. Our current focus is on playability, giving players reasons to return to the game, discover new challenges, and play 007 First Light in new ways.
So, the current focus is on 007 First Light itself, rather than future plans.
Q: You accumulated a wealth of experience while developing 007 First Light. Which experiences can be applied to future projects, such as new entries in the "Hitman" series?
IO Interactive:It doesn't necessarily have to be a new entry in the "Hitman" series; it could be any other project. 007 First Light is a journey. We worked on "Hitman" for so long that it took a considerable amount of time to break out of the "Hitman" framework and create a narrative-driven game that wasn't "Hitman." In the early stages of developing 007 First Light, we tried many things until we found the fun and determined what this game should look like. Once we passed that stage, the rest fell into place naturally. This iterative approach to creating something new is something we can take with us and continue to use in the future.
Q: Many players feel that Isola is like Bond's mentor, shaping his early spy mindset and way of doing things. From a script design perspective, how do you hope Isola will influence Bond's subsequent character growth?
Nozomi Nakai:Are you saying she's a "bad influence"? I think you might be right (laughs). I don't think Isola cares about "influencing" Bond—she only cares whether what others do happens to serve her own purposes. But it's really brilliant that the writers portrayed Isola as someone several steps ahead of the young Bond. When Bond first entered this circle, he was still green and young. Isola, however, has been in this business for many years, knows everyone, knows who the clients are, and knows how to open doors. So, it's natural for Bond to learn some tricks and ways from her. However, I think their ways of doing things, their ways of being spies, are really very different, so I hope Bond doesn't learn all her bad tricks—she's the type who would slash your tires... (turns to IO Interactive colleagues) This "slashing tires" reference might not be a globally understood joke... Never mind, let's skip it.
Q: In the story, Isola's organization communicates with her in Japanese. Is this faction related to the Black Dragon Society from Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice, rather than SPECTRE as many speculate? Many original novel fans regretted that the Black Dragon Society storyline was cut from the movie back then. Will the game be more faithful to the original work?
Nozomi Nakai:Is that your guess? (Pause) ...She is a mysterious woman. There are many "eccentrics" in many countries around the world, and I believe she could communicate with any of them; we just happened to see her interacting with Japanese-speaking factions. I'm not actually sure if your guess is right or wrong—I don't plan to answer that question (laughs).
Q: Many games invite their actors to shoot special promotional videos or appear in person for anniversary events, such as Control featuring its lead actor visiting the studio. Does 007 First Light have similar plans? Many players even joke that they hope to see a 007 movie adapted from the game in the future. What are your thoughts on this?
Nozomi Nakai:You smiled quite cunningly when asking this tricky question. I really have no idea; I can't tell you. But I can say for sure: she doesn't die in the game, and some other characters don't die either—that's all I can say. Moreover, this isn't decided by me... As far as I know, nothing has been finalized yet.
IO Interactive:One important point is that the world created by IO Interactive is not "Canon"; it is entirely our new interpretation, and this universe exists only in the game world, so it has no binding relationship with the film series.
Q: What was your experience like when auditioning for the role of "Isola"? What qualities did you feel gave you the confidence to go for this role?
Nozomi Nakai:The process was long, similar to film and TV auditions—first sending an audition video, then meeting with the team—director, producers, creative team... Afterwards, there was another round of auditions with the rest of the cast, where I met Patrick Gibson, who plays Bond; finally, I did a test in front of cameras in a large studio. The whole process lasted nearly a year, and when they notified me that I got the role, I had almost forgotten I was still auditioning for this project (laughs)—but that was good because there was no pressure at all. I'm not sure why they thought I was suitable; perhaps the gentleman here knows better. I remember there was a scene where Isola had to pretend to be a maid in Slovakia, and I thought it would be cool to use a Slovak accent, so I kept preparing for that accent. As a result, director Martin Emborg said, "What are you doing? No need for that, just be yourself."
So, most of the time I was just being myself—which probably answers the question of "why I was suitable."
IO Interactive:This is my first time meeting her in person today. Before this, I had "seen" her in the game for many years... I didn't know much about her, but seeing her in real life, I understood why others say she is everyone's ideal Isola—Nozomi often hears people say they can't tell where she's from or what her background is, just like people can't figure out which country Isola is from or where she comes from.
Q: The experience of game motion capture is very different from filming movies or TV series—you actually receive limited story information before mocap shooting, and you need to return later to record additional content. How did you adapt to and overcome these challenges? What are your special thoughts on filming game motion capture compared to filming series or movies?
Nozomi Nakai:Motion capture involves performing in a small space in front of cameras, which looks comical, not sexy, nothing like Isola, and not glamorous at all. The biggest difference is the time spent shaping the character: when filming a movie or series, you prepare Everythinggj about the character before shooting starts, then show up, finish filming, and that's it. But making a game (motion capture) is different; the whole process lasts for several months, or even years, so you can make many more adjustments and refinements. If I felt a scene was played too humorously, too lightly, or too cleverly, I could come back months later and try to propose a more serious, deeper, and grounded performance. It's really good for an actor to have time to reflect—because usually, there is no time for that; you act every day, and filming is done within a month or two.
For a long time during the filming of 007 First Light, I knew very little about the full story. At one point, we were shooting some scenes, and I only received the few pages of script needed for that day's shoot, so there were many gaps in the story for me. I remember one day I went to the director and said, "There are too many gaps in this story; I need some help." He said, "Oh, you don't know the full story yet?" I said no. So, he sat down with Anthony Howell, who plays Nicholas Webb, and told us the whole story. It was an epiphany moment; we finally saw the big picture—where she came from, where she was going, and what would happen at the end. So, for the first few months, we knew nothing; I only knew the scenes I appeared in—I didn't know about the training, the other recruits, John Greenway, Mauritania, or Vietnam. It turned out to be a very grand story. The director walked us through the entire story from beginning to end, which was really helpful.
Q: 007 First Light adopted a cinematic production style, where actors' live performances even influenced the script and character development in reverse. During motion capture recording, was there any scene where your improvisation was approved by the team and kept in the game, perhaps even influencing the character of Isola?
Nozomi Nakai:I improvised a lot of things that nobody liked, and none of them made it into the game (laughs). Only a small part, probably just a few words here and there, but mostly no, same for Bond's actor. I think most of the time, the story itself is refined and excellent enough, and we just need to execute it, leaving trust in the dialogue and story. We did do some improvisation with other cast members, but more to explore the tone of the scene, not really intending to keep it in the game—it was more like "try this... then try that... no," and then we often returned to the original script. For example, there was a big scene on a yacht with Bond and Isola, which was one of the scenes from my audition; we've acted it out many times over the years—I think about four years. You might think it should have changed a lot, but in the end, we always returned to the original script because the initial version was good enough.
Q: The Isola you portrayed breaks away from the traditional "femme fatale" trope, leaving a deep impression on many players. From your own perspective, why would a professional spy save Bond without any personal gain? In Isola's eyes, what kind of person is the young James Bond?
Nozomi Nakai:To be honest, I think she found him quite cute (laughs). Also, I think during their first meeting, she probably didn't take him too seriously—because compared to her skills and her experience in the spy world, he looked too green. However, she quickly discovered: he is very serious, very capable, very confident, and grows and learns very quickly, with more potential than most people she might have encountered in her life. So, why did she save him? I don't know, why did she save him... Maybe she always thinks a few steps ahead of others, perhaps it will be useful later?
Unattributed interjection:She saw his potential; it was love (laughs).
IO Interactive:That's how we write our characters: there is never pure black, nor pure white. Even if you're supposed to be the villain betraying the hero, you still have a heart; sometimes, even with the best intentions in the world, you might still hurt people. So, I think it also comes from this "spectrum"—she's not just a "bad girl."