Neckbeards left worried that 007 First Light will be “woke” after IO Interactive says James Bond will reflect “modern values”

The Reddit red pill incels are not gonna like this one. In a recent interview with Monstervine, IO Interactive’s cinematic director Martin Emborg spoke about some big changes coming to James Bond after backlash to the films.

007 First Light has been a highly anticipated game that will bring the stealth action of the movies to consoles in May 2026. However, while they’ll be bringing the action, don’t expect them to bring some of the old-school Bond behaviors.

Emborg explained that Bond in 007 First Light is more of a “modern guy.” We don’t know exactly what this means, but neckbeards are having a mental breakdown already.

007 First Light won’t be “tone deaf” like 1960s James Bond films

James Bond is a beloved series that goes back to the 1960s. While this makes a lot of films classics, it also means there’s a lot of stuff in those movies that would probably be seen as “tone deaf” today, Emborg said. He didn’t say exactly what those tone deaf features would be, but earlier Bond films have the spy saying pretty racist things and even hitting women.

When the interview started spreading around the internet, gamers started having a meltdown and claiming this meant Bond will be some solo polyamorous hijabi amputee. However, Emborg noted that even the modern James Bond in 007 First Light will have some womanizer-like behaviors. He’s still a dude after all. Just expect him to have “evolved.”

Said Emborg: “So, he’s evolved through the decades, and obviously, we reflect modern values. So it’s not going to be your old school Bond, which would just be tone deaf in this day, right? He’s a modern guy.”

The arguments over James Bond’s new “woke” persona over the internet has been pretty hilarious. Apparently, Bond not beating on women means that there will no longer be Bond girls or sex at all. Interesting. No in between, huh?

Removing the behavior of a Bond character from the Silent Generation apparently means the game is doomed to fail. Said one weirdo on X: “That’s why the game is already dead before release. Those idiots have no awareness. Out of touch.”

Because apparently it’s “out of touch” to make James Bond act nice to women in 2026. I miss when Bond backhanded women and threatened to break their bones. That’s my hero.

All over X, gamers are threatening to not play 007 First Light due to IO Interactive’s statement that Bond will be “modern.” This reflects earlier fears and sentiments about the game leading up to this interview, back when gamers were fearing that the game would feature a female protagonist. Ew!

I think this is a scarier sentiment than people realize, going beyond a silly 007 game. It really upsets people that much that a dude won’t mistreat and sexualize a bunch of women? Really?

“That’s not being ‘tone deaf,’ that’s literally removing what it means to be Bond,” said one guy who thinks the real magic of Bond was beating women. “All they want to do in entertainment is rewrite history and what makes specific characters unique and historically appealing. The modern audience is annoying, to be honest. If it’s not black, gay, or trans, it’s racist and ‘tone deaf.’ This is insanity.”

All of this because the new James Bond will be a more respectful player? My lord.

In a recent interview with Escapist, senior licensing producer Theuns Smit explained that this Bond was always supposed to be different from the previous versions: “From the beginning, it was very important for us that we wanted to tell a new story, wholly original… from the ground up.”

Welp, there you have it. Another glimpse into the cesspool of gamer-centric social media.