IO Interactive said it “had no choice” but to delay the launch of 007 First Light on Nintendo Switch 2 for a third time, with the game now set to release in March 2027.
Technical producer Cristina Vega told Korean outlet Inven Global that “while being delayed for a third time is certainly disappointing news for fans, this decision was also made for their benefit.”
“The development team had been pushing hard for a long time and needed a brief breather, and combined with requests from marketing and various other factors, we had no choice but to postpone the release date to March 2027 once again. Ultimately, we decided on another delay because we want fans to experience the game in its most polished form on Switch 2.”
Vega noted that IO has not yet reached the final stage, but porting 007 First Light to Nintendo console has been “going very well” and is “definitely getting close to the final phase, which includes performance and various fine-tuning.”
“I think it might even finish earlier, but since release is scheduled for March 2027, please wait just a little longer,” she added.
Vega also explained that 007 First Light will be optimised for Switch 2 while ensuring “players wouldn’t notice much difference and could have an experience as close as possible to PC.”
“We also fundamentally had to make choices on where to compromise. Of course, that doesn’t mean we simply reduced NPCs or anything like that,” said Vega. “Because Switch 2 has limitations in memory and other areas, some compromises are inevitable. But we made those choices in areas that aren’t very crucial to players.”
“Even compared to other platforms, I don’t think players will notice differences like having fewer NPCs. Object detail is an example. For objects at a distance, PC maintains quality above a certain level, whereas on Switch 2, they might appear at slightly lower quality.”
“In the end, our goal is to allow players to experience 007 First Light as fully as possible regardless of the platform. The same goes for Switch 2.”
IO Interactive’s James Bond adaptation sold 4 million copies within three months of its May release earlier this year.
