Compare Revisions

11 The Glacier Engine is IO Interactive's proprietary game engine, evolved for 007 First Light from the version used in the modern Hitman trilogy (2016 through 2021). The studio characterized the 007 First Light build as a significant generational step rather than a port: real-time global illumination replaces the bounce lighting Hitman used, a new proprietary volumetric system handles fog and smoke, dynamic streaming carries larger mission spaces in real time, and a Frame Graph rendering pipeline introduces up to four asynchronous compute pipelines on PlayStation 5.
22  
33 What Changed for 007 First Light
44  
55 SystemHitman Trilogy007 First LightGlobal illuminationPre-baked bounce lightingReal-time global illumination, fully dynamicVolumetric systemStandard volumetric fogProprietary system internally named SmolderStreamingPer-mission fixed loadsDynamic brick streaming that swaps geometry and texture bricks at runtimeRender pipelineStandard render graphFrame Graph render system with up to four async compute pipelines on PS5Crowd densityCrowd density scaled per-missionSignificantly higher per-frame NPC density supported across mission typesEngine directionStealth assassination set piecesStealth, melee, gunplay, and drivable vehicles in the same engine pass
66 Real-Time Global Illumination
77  
88 The shift from baked bounce lighting to real-time global illumination affects every mission environment. Dynamic light sources (mounted lamps, headlights, fire) propagate diffuse light into the scene as they move. Day-night transitions and time-of-day variations on outdoor missions remain visually consistent without pre-baked GI passes. The trade-off is the higher GPU cost on lower-tier hardware, addressed by the dynamic resolution scaling baked into performance modes on consoles.
99  
1010 Smolder Volumetric System
1111  
1212 Smolder is IO Interactive's proprietary name for the volumetric smoke, fog, and dust system used in 007 First Light. The team describes Smolder as a step beyond standard volumetric solutions: it supports denser, more directional volumetrics, smoke-versus-light interactions, and the kind of cinematic explosive flashes that the Bond fantasy invites. Smoke Pods deploy through Smolder and the resulting cloud can be moved by character motion.
1313  
1414 Dynamic Brick Streaming
1515  
1616 Mission spaces in 007 First Light are larger than the Hitman trilogy's hubs. Rather than pre-loading the full mission area into memory, the engine streams in geometric and texture bricks dynamically as Bond moves through the space. The streaming pipeline runs in the background and is one of the techniques that allows the game to support the bigger, more crowded environments shown in pre-launch coverage.
1717  
1818 Frame Graph and Async Compute
1919  
2020 The Frame Graph render system tracks every render pass as a graph node and schedules them across the GPU efficiently. On PlayStation 5, the engine uses up to four asynchronous compute pipelines, allowing the GPU to run shadow passes, post-processing, and lighting work in parallel rather than strictly sequentially. This contributes to the engine hitting its performance targets on console hardware.
2121  
2222 Performance Modes by Platform
2323  
2424 PlatformQuality ModePerformance ModeNotesPlayStation 530 FPS, target 4K60 FPS with dynamic resolution scalingMost reviewers prefer the performance mode despite occasional resolution dropsPlayStation 5 Pro60 FPS at quality settingsSingle mode onlyPS5 Pro skips the 30 FPS optionXbox Series X30 FPS, target 4K60 FPS with dynamic resolution scalingQuick Resume behavior occasionally inconsistent at launchXbox Series S30 FPS onlyNot availableRAM and GPU headroom prevent a 60 FPS modePCPlayer-configurable; up to 4K with DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution and Dynamic Multi-Frame GenerationUncapped framerate with DLSSPath tracing and DLSS Ray Reconstruction land in a Summer 2026 update
2525 PC Features
2626  
2727 On PC the Glacier Engine supports DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution and Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation at launch. The Summer 2026 update adds path tracing and DLSS Ray Reconstruction. Uncapped framerate and ultrawide aspect ratios are supported out of the box. The PC System Requirements article covers minimum through ultra tiers.
2828  
2929 Drivable Vehicles
3030  
3131 007 First Light is IO Interactive's first title with drivable vehicles. The studio brought specific driving expertise onto the team to support the Aston Martin DBS, Aston Martin Valhalla, and other rides featured in the campaign. Vehicle physics, environment streaming during chases, and traffic AI are all engine systems built on top of the same Glacier pipeline used for the on-foot mission design.
3232  
3333 Related Articles
3434  
3535 PC System RequirementsCombat SystemVehiclesAston Martin Valhalla