007 First Light sold 1.5 million copies in its first 24 hours after release this week, a fast start that immediately puts the James Bond game in the center of the conversation around new releases. The game also carries an 8.7 user score from players, a strong reception that matches the early sales surge.
Patrick Gibson plays the young version of James Bond in the game, which is framed as a Bond origin story and leans on the mix of action, intrigue and seduction that has long defined the character. The hand-to-hand combat has drawn praise for its hard-hitting physicality, giving the title a distinctly physical edge alongside the spycraft.
That combination helps explain why the game is drawing attention beyond the usual launch chatter. It is tied for the sixth-highest-score game of 2026 and sits in second place on user score behind only Resident Evil, which has a 9.4 out of 10. For IO Interactive, the result is a striking debut for a studio that has spent the last 25 years building eight Hitman games and now has a Bond title that is landing with players immediately.
Still, the launch picture is not entirely settled. The game's early numbers are strong enough to fuel talk about Patrick Gibson as a possible name in the conversation for the next real-life Bond lead, but the broader race for game-of-the-year recognition is already crowded. The question now is not whether 007 First Light made noise at launch. It did. The question is whether IO Interactive can turn a hot first day into a durable run that keeps it in the awards and sales discussion as the year goes on.
