007 First Light Sells 1.5 Million Copies in 24 Hours, Fastest Ever for IO Interactive

1.5 million copies in 24 hours. That's the number IO Interactive are sitting on right now, and it makes 007 First Light the fastest-selling game the Danish studio has ever shipped. Faster than any Hitman title. Faster than anything they've put out in their 28-year history.

And the Nintendo Switch 2 version hasn't even launched yet. That's coming later this summer.

IO Interactive themselves confirmed the milestone, saying: "The milestone of 1.5 million units sold in 24 hours reflects overwhelming global enthusiasm for 007 First Light and represents a significant achievement for IO Interactive. With an 88 OpenCritic rating and 87 Metacritic score, 007 First Light has been embraced by both critics and players alike, already establishing itself as one of 2026's most successful gaming releases."

On Steam alone, market analyst Rhys Elliott from Alinea Analytics estimates the game sold around 500,000 copies, generating roughly $25 million in revenue on Valve's platform in a single day. Elliott pointed out something interesting too: about a third of First Light's Steam players had also played Hitman, meaning IOI managed to pull in a significant chunk of new players beyond their existing fanbase.

"The Steam performance really stood out for this one" Elliott said. "It's the latest example of a traditionally 'console' game doing fantastic numbers on Steam."

For Amazon, which owns the Bond rights and licensed IOI to develop the game, Elliott was fairly blunt about what those numbers mean. "The franchise hasn't had a quality adaptation in decades" he said "and IOI has now delivered one that looks like a serious commercial proposition."

Critics Are On Board Too

The sales figures don't exist in a vacuum either. 007 First Light launched to an 87 on Metacritic and an 88 on OpenCritic, making it the highest-rated IO Interactive game ever. IGN handed it a 9/10, with their reviewer writing that it is "demonstrably obsessed with bringing the Bond fantasy to life in a way no one has ever managed before" and calling it "the best Bond game I've ever played."

It's also, for what it's worth, the highest-rated James Bond game since GoldenEye. That's a bar that's stood for nearly 30 years.

How Does It Stack Up?

To put 1.5 million in context, Crimson Desert launched back in March and hit 2 million copies in its first 24 hours before reaching 5 million in under a month. So First Light's opening isn't quite at that level, but it's still a genuinely impressive debut for an original IP entry in a franchise that's had no real gaming presence since 007 Legends flopped back in 2012.

IOI has already been vocal about where they want this to go. The developer has stated its ambition to make a full trilogy of James Bond games, and the ending of First Light reportedly sets up a sequel pretty directly.

Whether those sequels happen will depend on how the game's legs hold up over the coming weeks. A strong opening weekend is one thing. Sustained sales are another. But right now? The signs are very good for Bond's return to gaming.