"Being a massive James Bond fan, it's just a huge honour to welcome Hakan and IO Interactive to our conference," says Game Republic general manager
IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak will host a 007 First Light session at Game Republic New Horizons.
Abrak, who also serves as game director for First Light, will discuss the development of the James Bond title. The game is IO Interactive's fastest-selling release to date, with over four million copies sold in three months. First Light is expected to launch on Nintendo Switch 2 in late 2026.
"I'm really excited to be attending Game Republic New Horizons and to speak about 007 First Light, which was a dream project for IO Interactive," said Abrak.
Game Republic managing director Jamie Sefton added: "Being a massive James Bond fan, it's just a huge honour to welcome Hakan and IO Interactive to our conference. I can't wait to learn more about the brilliant 007 First Light's creation and how the talented team worked on bringing such an iconic character to life."
Abrak joins a lineup of industry veterans at New Horizons, including keynote speaker Ken Kutaragi, Landfall chief business officer Rebecca Lautner, and a panel titled "Hype-free Assessment of AI in Games" featuring Tommy Thompson (AI and Games), Duyguy Cakmak (Creative Assembly), and Matthias Siemonsmeier (Splash Damage).
The event will also feature a fireside chat in the Investor Zone with Tencent business development director Teddy Keefe, and a panel titled "Beyond the Pitch: Securing (and Surviving) Angel Investment" with Nick Button-Brown (The Game Angels), Tracy McGarrigan (Ansible), and Ian Masters (Flick Games).
Abrak recently discussed the success of First Light with GamesIndustry.biz. "We haven't completely recouped yet because there's a partnership as well, and royalties. But it's above all our dreams and expectations. It's going to be a massive, massive record for us and by all measures it's going to be a huge new success."
IO Interactive is in "ongoing conversations" with Bond license owner Amazon about the franchise's future, but for now they are "just talking about First Light, and the live tail of it."
"We will soon sometime in the future be talking about the future plans between Amazon and IOI."
Game Republic New Horizons will take place at Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough between October 14 and 16.
GameIndustry.biz is a media partner of GR New Horizons 2026.
