James Bond is set to make his big comeback in the gaming world for the first time in over a decade with IO Interactive’s *007 First Light*, and we are honored to have the renowned secret agent’s new mission grace our magazine’s cover. We visited Copenhagen, Denmark, to uncover how the acclaimed developers of the *Hitman* series managed to create a different type of secret agent game.
“007 First Light” is an origin story for James Bond, describing how the character came about as the agent who is known in most of the media in which he appears. Therefore, the cover art features the younger version of the character from a series of events called “The Iceland Incident,” in which MI6 notices the potential of agent Bond for the first time. However, according to the words of art director Rasmus Poulsen, “It is partially based on the story of the game, and partially on the tone of the game. What was most important was capturing the overall product experience.”
In this issue of Game Informer, there is more information compared to the previous issue. The major feature offers a vast insight into the most eagerly awaited games within 2026 and beyond. Whether it is the interest in Grand Theft Auto VI and Control: Resonant, Judas and Stranger Than Heaven or Forza Horizon 6 and Gears of War: E-Day, everything is covered.
But that’s not all that’s housed in the pages of this issue, which launches digitally on January 27! In addition to the in-depth 007 First Light cover story and our huge Most Anticipated Games of 2026 and Beyond section, we have a retrospective on the first 30 years of Bandai Namco’s Tales franchise from contributor Michael Murphy, while freelancer Andrew King has a great investigation into the evolving definition of adventure games. Nicole Carpenter also contributes a fascinating look at the enormous success of a seemingly niche type of game in Love and Deepspace. All of that is on top of our standard suite of departments, including Gear, Replies, Reviews, Top Five, and smaller interviews
The issue launches digitally on January 27, with print issues rolling out to subscribers in the subsequent weeks. If you don’t already subscribe and would like to get a copy of this issue, you’ll be able to find them at select newsstands and bookstores, or you can subscribe to receive the next 10 issues delivered straight to your mailbox.