'We have a great relationship with IO Interactive,' Amazon says, but it won't commit to bringing the studio back for future Bond games

Amazon and IO Interactive's Bond Future Remains Uncertain

Jeff Gattis, general manager of Amazon Gaming, recently hinted that 007 First Light might not mark the beginning of a long-term partnership with IO Interactive, suggesting that future James Bond games could be handled by MGM or Amazon Game Studios. This raised questions about the studio's role in the James Bond franchise, especially after the game's success. However, a statement from Amazon clarified that the company has a strong relationship with IO Interactive, even though it remains non-committal about future projects.

"Amazon MGM holds the rights to any future James Bond video games, but it's still too early to discuss future projects," the rep said. "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."

The Uncertain Future of Bond Games

The situation is a bit odd: As the owner of the underlying IP, Amazon has "a stake" in 007 First Light, but IO Interactive self-published the game because its deal to make it was done years prior to Amazon's 2025 acquisition of the Bond franchise. This left Amazon in a position somewhat similar to Hasbro and Larian Studios.

A hit video game has turned an aged and greying entertainment series into a hot property, and now, what's next? Larian Studios' complete disinterest in doing Baldur's Gate 4 simplified things for Hasbro in that regard—no need to worry about dealing with the power behind the throne if they decide to just leave. However, IO Interactive has shown no such inclination, and now Amazon seems to be moving quickly to set expectations for the future.

Another similarity between Hasbro and Amazon is that neither seems to have much of a clear plan in the video game space. After years of fumbling, Hasbro announced a big new D&D game with Stig Asmussen's Giant Skull studio, only to pull the plug less than a year later. Meanwhile, Amazon made major layoffs in its games division in 2025, cancelled multiple projects, and even called a halt to New World, its not-unsuccessful MMO, as part of a refocus on its Luna cloud gaming platform.

So why would Amazon suddenly be interested in publishing, and possibly developing, video games again? One possibility is that it's looking forward to inflicting more AI-generated content on the world. Another is that Amazon might hope to strike a conventional publishing deal with IO Interactive for future 007 games, giving it a bigger share of the profits while letting the studio do the heavy lifting.

A third factor is convergence. In a separate interview with The Verge, Gattis said, "this line between TV and video games is increasingly coming together," and as a result, he thinks that "every major IP is going to have to have a video game story."

"007 First Light is exhibit A of going to Prime Video, seeing the Bond films, playing the video game, buying merchandise on Amazon.com," Gattis said, describing a multi-pronged attack that may not be particularly appealing to all fans. He also repeated that "I think you can expect [the next Bond game to be] an Amazon Game Studios-published game," and declined to say whether IO Interactive would be involved in making it: "As the dust settles on this one, we’ll start to pop our heads up and figure out, okay, what does [the next Bond game] look like? Who’s the right developer for it? What’s the right storyline? All those things."

So far, IO Interactive hasn't commented on the situation. The studio was contacted for a response, and updates will be provided if a reply is received.