It’s been a while since the last James Bond game, the critically slated ‘007 Legends’, hit shelves back in 2012. With the Bond license potentially revoked, Activision backed away from licensed games altogether. With no news on the development of further games, a recent leak provided a flicker of hope.
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It was on 04 May when Twitter user AnEvilHag announced, that three leaked games would supposedly be in the making by American video game developer Telltale Games, among them the James Bond title ‘007 Solstice’. On 02 June, the same user posted a set of leaked screenshots from the second seasons of ‘Minecraft: Story Mode’ and ‘Tales from the Borderlands’. The third picture showed the alleged title design for the James Bond game.
The uploaded pictures have since been deleted from Twitter and browsing through the Telltale community forums, you will stumble across several posts in which moderators declare them as fake.
However, with a second season of ‘Minecraft: Story Mode’ having already passed classification, the leak just got a bit more credible. On the other hand, the person who leaked the pictures might have just had a lucky guess. Mind you, ‘Minecraft: Story Mode’ is popular among Telltale gamers.
A different skillset
The possibility of a Bond game being in development at Telltale Games is not to be ruled out, despite the absence of any hard evidence or confirmation.
But how likely is a future 007 extravaganza for gamers? The last game, ‘007 Legends’, was received poorly and slammed by both critics and Bond fans. Subsequently, it was reported that video game publisher Activision had lost the Bond license as a consequence.
Founded in 2004, Telltale Games has blossomed out to being a respected developer in the gaming industry. The compelling point-and-click adventure titles based on popular intellectual properties such as mainstream franchises like ‘The Walking Dead’ or ‘Game of Thrones’ enjoy both a good popularity and reputation.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”Kevin Bruner” link=”” color=”#c5b358″ class=”” size=””]“I’m a giant James Bond fan and I’m always frustrated by games that make him a mass murderer.”[/perfectpullquote]
In a January 2014 interview with Official XBOX magazine, the president and co-founder of Telltale Games, Kevin Bruner, had expressed an interest in making a James Bond game if the chance would ever present itself. “I’m a giant James Bond fan and I’m always frustrated by games that make him a mass murderer. He’s a super-spy, and that’s a different skillset,” he explained. “The films make him less of a mass murderer, and there’s not much killing in the books – more spying and intrigue.”
For the avid stealth gamer, Bruners vision of a Bond game focused on spying will sound perfect. Almost all previous Bond games were shooters with elements of spying but certainly not the other way around. Naturally, fans of the franchise demand certain elements to be present – if possible even a decent car chase with one of Bonds legendary vehicles.
Licence to develop
Telltale Games is not the only game developer who could potentially land a hit with making a new Bond game. In January 2016, the president of British game developer Curve Digital Entertainment, Dominic Wheatley, also expressed an interest by saying that he’d “be very happy to have a James Bond licence. We could do a cracking game around that.” With five games to their name and a focus on 2D, it is however debatable whether they could pull off an exciting Bond game.
The task is not an entirely easy one. Whoever gets their hands on the Bond licence has the 007 gaming community breathing down their necks. When it comes to our favourite spy, we expect nothing less than excellence.
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