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The Sony State of Play from Summer Game Fest 2025 dropped plenty of big bits of news, but one of the reveals we’re most excited about is the upcoming James Bond game from Hitman developer IO Interactive. The gameplay trailer showed plenty of big action and snappy one-liners, but we can’t help but hope there is a bit more Hitman than Goldeneye in 007: First Light than we’ve seen so far.

Don’t get us wrong; the trailer looks really fun, presenting an origin story for a James Bond that makes him seem much greener than we’ve seen before. There are big action sequences and plenty of gun combat as you’d expect from a game about the world’s most famous spy. However, the thing we’re looking for in the game – and that we only seemed to get a glimpse of in the trailer for 007: First Light – is the puzzle-solving that has always been at the heart of the Hitman franchise.

The best part of playing as Agent 47 has never been the fighting. In fact, the Hitman games have always been somewhat basic when it comes to shooting and combat. The joy from them is in how they encourage players to look for the weirdest, most deranged way to kill the target. Dress Agent 47 up as a drummer and have him infiltrate a rock band. Convince the target that his mother has come back from the dead to haunt him. Make someone hit an exploding golf ball. All of these are absurd but that is what makes the Hitman games so fun.

We haven’t seen any of that from 007: First Light. It is possible that IO Interactive will play it a bit more grounded with a James Bond game, but that wouldn’t be playing to their strengths. What we want, really, is to see Bond dropped into a series of levels, with players given the freedom to achieve the objective however they want. Use charm, stealth, or brute force. Just don’t make every encounter a shootout. 

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
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• How to play every GTA game in order
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And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.