IOI’s Hopeful 007 Trilogy May Have a Tough Balance to Strike

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 18, 2024 16 Views 7 Min Read
IOI’s Hopeful 007 Trilogy May Have a Tough Balance to Strike



IO Interactive, the studio behind the Hitman revival trilogy, has been chipping away at an as-of-yet unrevealed James Bond game, currently referred to as simply Project 007. As audiences await more updates about the Bond project, the strongest evidence for its forthcoming success is IOI’s stellar modern track record.




The Hitman World of Assassination Trilogy, though often classified as stealth, adheres more closely to the tenets of the puzzle and immersive sim genres. Each level is a veritable playground for Agent 47 and his murderous deeds, with every NPC, interactive environmental element, and item, regardless of inherent lethality, having the potential for serious (or not so serious) utility. This combination of methodical and improvisational gameplay buttresses the elite assassin fantasy, which has obvious crossover with the most essential characteristics of James Bond. In fact, it can be argued that the experience offered by IOI’s Hitman games is closer to a “James Bond simulator” than the likes of Goldeneye, which is more like a stereotypical FPS of its era. With so much promise, hopes are high for IOI’s crack at James Bond, but there are still a few roadblocks in the way.

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IO Interactive’s Take On James Bond Could Make for a Tricky Trilogy


IOI Is “Hopeful” That Project 007 Will Be a Trilogy

Of all the potential similarities between modern Hitman and Project Bond, one of the most intriguing is the possibility of the latter becoming a trilogy akin to World of Assassination. After all, while Agent 47 undergoes a personal journey in his games, Bond is a character that necessitates a more intimate and progressive narrative in some ways. Additionally, and perhaps even more importantly, Bond is a relatively grounded protagonist who doesn’t “scale” his abilities in the way that a typical gaming lead would.

It’s quite possible that IOI will directly translate its overarching progression system from the World of Assassination trilogy, linking each James Bond release so that all three effectively form a single whole, but this might be a little too predictable. A lot of Hitman elements would carry over well to a James Bond title, but this approach runs the risk of making Project 007 feel too “game-y,” in the sense that it would undermine its storytelling potential. Assuming that IOI wants to take a mature angle with its version of Bond, a more traditional style of cross-entry progression and power scaling may be in order.


Hitman’s Leveling System Could Be Adapted to Project 007

If Project 007 assumes a quasi-RPG design philosophy similar to that of World of Assassination, then a progression model built around gadgets, rather than physical abilities, makes a lot of sense. Virtually nothing is known about IOI’s plans for a three-game James Bond story, but such a structure lends itself well to one major threat that escalates over each release. The games’ progression could be linked to this long-term plot element.

As the “big bad” of Project 007 gets progressively stronger or more intimidating by way of their resources, so could Bond and his team at MI6. Essentially, while the World of Assassination trilogy grants players access to new items as they level up, Project 007 could tie its espionage and combat tools to its narrative, with Q (or his equivalent) devising new gadgets and other implements for Bond, specifically designed to counter certain threats. If the game leans into the more high-tech Bond movies, like those of the 80s and 90s, then this could work even better.


A James Bond series designed around gear would be a perfect follow-up to the World of Assassination trilogy, which does such a great job of making each interactive item interesting and useful. If IO Interactive can recreate this strength in Project Bond, it could set the stage for an exciting and progressively engaging trilogy.

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