When IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak first started talking about the budget behind 007 First Light, he hinted that people might be surprised by the final figure.
Back in May, Abrak told The Game Business that while Bond was the studio’s most ambitious and expensive project to date, “these games can be done for half of what you hear about out there.” At the time, however, he declined to reveal exactly how much money had been invested into the project. All he would say is it was IO’s most expensive game to date.
Now we finally have an answer, and it’s a big one.
According to Danish broadcaster DR, 007 First Light cost approximately 1.3 billion Danish kroner to develop over a seven-year production cycle. Converted into US dollars, that’s roughly $202 million, making it comfortably the most expensive project in IO Interactive’s history, exactly what Abrak said.
$202 million is huge number, but it also helps explain why Abrak seemed eager to discuss the budget once the game was released. While $202 million is certainly not cheap, it arrives at a time when reports of AAA budgets spiralling beyond $300 million, $400 million and even $500 million have become increasingly common. For Abrak and his time, developing a triple-A title for just over $200 million is probably a point of pride.
As for the seven year development cycle, that tracks, but may not quite tell the whole story. IO first announced that they were developing an 007 project in 2020. However, full development didn’t start until after they finished Hitman: World of Assassination. In other words, full development has probably been around 5-years, with a year or two in pre-production.
For more context, Abrak previously revealed that the entire World of Assassination trilogy was developed for around $180 million in total. According to the CEO, 2016’s Hitman cost approximately $100 million to make, Hitman 2 came in at around $60 million, while Hitman 3 was produced for roughly $20 million. That’s because the technology and tricks IO used for the first game, made the second easier to develop, and by the third, they had the system dialled in.
In other words, 007 First Light cost more than the entire modern Hitman trilogy combined. However, comparing Bond directly to Hitman doesn’t quite tell the whole story.
Unlike Hitman, which was an original IP owned by IO Interactive, First Light represents the studio’s first outing with one of entertainment’s biggest licenses. Beyond development costs, the project likely includes substantial licensing expenses associated with securing the rights from Amazon MGM and EON Productions. We also have no idea what IO paid to secure the Bond licence, assuming those costs aren’t already wrapped into the reported budget.
More importantly, IO has repeatedly suggested that First Light is intended to be the foundation for something much larger.
In interviews dating back to 2023, Abrak has spoken openly about wanting players to look back on “multiple Bond games” developed by IO Interactive. The studio has also confirmed that it secured the rights to develop more than one James Bond title, while Chief Development Officer Véronique Lallier recently described First Light as “just the beginning.”
Viewed through that lens, the $202 million figure begins to look less like the cost of a single game and more like an investment in an entirely new franchise.
After all, the first entry often shoulders expenses that future sequels won’t. Technology, pipelines, tools, character foundations and world-building all need to be established before later games can start benefiting from asset reuse and production efficiencies. It’s a strategy IO knows well, having steadily reduced costs throughout the Hitman trilogy while simultaneously improving critical reception. If it follows the same trend, the budget of sequels could be much lower.
Of course, a budget this large also brings expectations.
Reports indicate that 007 First Light sold around 1.5 million copies during its first 24 hours on sale, a strong opening by any measure. Yet a project with a development budget north of $200 million needs sustained success rather than a strong launch weekend. Quick back-of-the-napkin math suggests 007 First Light needs to shift around 3 million copies just to break even.
The good news for IO is that Bond appears to be off to exactly the kind of start the studio was hoping for. Whether First Light ultimately proves to be a profitable blockbuster or simply the first step in a much longer journey for IO’s version of James Bond remains to be seen. But I’m personally confident that we’re going to see more of IO’s James Bond, and I’ll be first-in-line to play it.
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