IO Interactive has announced it’s pushing back the release of 007 First Light on Switch 2. The game’s Switch 2 adaptation was expected to be released this summer, but has now been delayed to March 2027.
IOI said the extra time is being used to polish the game and optimise performance on Switch 2.
“We know many of you have been looking forward to experiencing Bond’s reimagined origin story on Nintendo Switch 2, and we greatly appreciate your enthusiasm,” IOI’s announcement post on X read.
“To ensure we deliver the quality of experience players expect, we have made the decision to delay the release to March 2027, with the exact date to be communicated later. This additional time will go toward polishing the Nintendo Switch 2 performance of the game.”
The news is especially surprising as 007 First Light was recently playable on Switch 2 at Gamescom. The studio is also taking the same demo to Tokyo Game Show this week, suggesting development was progressing smoothly.
But IOI never officially announced a release date beyond its intention to release the game sometime this summer. Then in late July, a 16th September release date popped up on Amazon Japan – a date that’s one day from now.
“We were thrilled by the positive feedback on 007 First Light at Gamescom, and it’s a great sign of the progress being made across the whole game as we head toward launch,” IOI’s statement went on. “We will share further updates as soon as we are ready. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support.”
007 First Light was released in May and has since sold more than 4 million copies across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. In Eurogamer’s 007 First Light review, Rick Lane praised the game’s emphasis on action and spectacle compared to IO’s more cerebral Hitman series, and concluded that IOI was absolutely the right studio to create a modern James Bond game.