Hitman developer IO Interactive might not be given the chance to publish or develop a sequel to 007 First Light, which last week sold 1.5 million copies within 24 hours of launch.
Franchise custodian Amazon, which nabbed the rights to the series after IO Interactive had already signed on to produce First Light, has suggested it intends to move production in-house going forward.
Speaking to Polygon, Amazon Games boss Jeff Gattis said that sequels to First Light will be “done by MGM and, theoretically, by Amazon Game Studios.”
MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) holds the rights to the James Bond franchise and was purchased by Amazon in 2021.
“We did not [make First Light]. We do have a stake in it because we now own the IP, but that IP acquisition happened after the First Light IO deal was already done,” added Gattis.
Amazon Games track record of bringing titles to market has been mixed to say the least. The U.S. company has canceled and scrapped a number of titles including an in-development MMO based on The Lord of the Rings franchise, fantasy MMO New World, and UGC dungeon brawler King of Meat.
Even so, Gattis said the company remains committed to expanding its slate of video games and believes properties with transmedia credentials, such as James Bond, represent a “real opportunity” within the entertainment space.
“We do see this continued integration of video and movies and video games, where that line is becoming much more blurry. We think that’s a real opportunity for us to create IP that extends—or kind of expands upon—TV shows and movies,” he added.
“So there’ll be a Tomb Raider TV show on Prime Video that’ll go alongside the games. There’s a lot of things we have in the works on new games that’ll relate to Prime Video IP.”