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James Bond is the player character and protagonist of 007 First Light. This portrayal is an original IO Interactive interpretation of the character, separate from any prior film, novel, or game depiction. At the start of the campaign Bond is a 26-year-old Royal Navy air crewman who has not yet been recruited into MI6 and has not yet received his 00 number.

The character is performed by Patrick Gibson, who provides both voice and likeness. Bond's earliest training, recruitment, and field assignments form the spine of the Story arc.

Profile

Personality

This Bond is talented and quick to read a room, but he is also young, reckless, and prone to improvising past direct orders. The early missions paint him as resourceful under pressure (donning a parka to slip past mercenaries on the Iceland coast, using found objects in fights, talking his way past checkpoints) and openly insubordinate with senior MI6 staff. He has not yet developed the polished poise associated with the older versions of the character from the wider Bond franchise; the campaign is about the process of building toward that.

Several mission designs lean on this contrast. Bond's mentor John Greenway routinely pushes back on Bond's risk-taking, the MI6 Cast responds to his cockiness with a mix of skepticism and dry humor, and the Bluff dialogue system rewards reading a guard's mood rather than relying on overwhelming charm. See the Stealth and Bluff System article for how that mechanic is shaped around Bond's still-developing social skills.

Combat Capabilities

Bond is a skilled fighter from the opening sequence, reflecting his Royal Navy training. He uses a dodge, parry, and grab melee rhythm, can disarm opponents and immediately turn their weapons against them, and improvises with environmental objects, throwing coffee cups, keyboards, books, or whatever is at hand to disorient enemies. With a firearm in hand he is a precise shot capable of clearing rooms quickly, but the game's Licence to Kill rule means he does not use lethal force on unarmed targets. The Combat System article walks through the full escalation rule and signature melee mechanics.

Spycraft and Gadgets

Once Bond reaches the Malta training facility he is issued his first Q Branch loadout. From that point onward he carries the Q-Lens, the Q-Watch, and a rotating selection of mission-specific tools. He uses these gadgets fluidly during combat as well as stealth; the developer team has described the kit as designed for use in both modes. The full list is in Q Branch Gadgets.

Wardrobe and Outfits

Bond's default loadout is a tailored field suit, but the Tactical Simulation Mode unlocks a rotating set of outfits earned through Clearance Level progression. Outfits are cosmetic and do not change stats. The Tactical Simulation Mode article covers the unlock loop in detail.

Note On Continuity

This portrayal is a fresh take on the character produced by IO Interactive for this game. Anything the wider Bond franchise has established about M's real name, Bond's school, his orphan history, his first 00 assignment, or his relationships across the prior films and novels is not assumed canon here unless it appears in this game. Treat the in-game cinematics and dialogue as the sole source of truth for who this character is.

Pre-Launch Coverage Boundary

This article is written in the pre-launch window before the May 27, 2026 public release. It covers what has been publicly confirmed through the cover-story reveal, hands-on preview coverage, trailers, and the official first-thirteen-minutes upload of the opening Iceland mission. Anything in the wider Bond film and novel canon that has not been confirmed in 007 First Light specifically is out of scope here. After launch, a fuller character profile can be built from the game's own cinematics and dialogue. The Story article is held to the same boundary for the same reason.

See Also

• Story

• MI6 Cast

• Combat System

• Stealth and Bluff System

• Q Branch Gadgets