007 First Light's brand placement is obnoxious, but it works. What it could mean for the industry, however, scares me

It all starts with a watch. Q approaches a young, fresh-faced James Bond in the bowels of MI6, offering a box of quintessential Q Watches. We’ve seen them 100 times before in the movies and other Bond media, but 007 First Light presents me with an ornate case with plush black lining; an expensive house for an expensive product. As a Bond fan, I wasn’t surprised to see the ‘Omega’ logo emblazoned in gold across its front; the watches are Seamaster Diver 300Ms, and retail for a pricey $9,400. Q proceeds to walk me through the various strap colors: Midnight Maroon, Ember Grey. In many ways, it feels like a sales pitch; an unprompted reminder that I am, indeed, poor.

It’s the first in a line of sponsored placements: black and gold Coca-Cola vending machines, an Aston Martin Valhalla, and various Land Rovers. It’s all obnoxiously James Bond, and IO Interactive has done a great job of integrating them into 007 First Light.

The marketing is quite aggressive, though: as aforementioned, Q holds up the Omega and walks me through the different straps. When I veer off the beaten track, my Land Rover Drive Assist kicks in to stop me from plowing into a busy London street. These brands are synonymous with Bond; in the world of First Light, they work and make sense. Yet, they’re still a little jarring, not because they’re a reminder of my dwindling bank balance, but because I’ve never really experienced this level of ambassadorship in a single-player game.

Partnerships are a dime a dozen in multiplayer games; Fortnite is, effectively, a licensed IP simulator at this point, and even the likes of League of Legends – which Riot wants to remain free of third-party sponsorship – has two Louis Vuitton skins. In a single-player game, however, it’s relatively rare to see real-life brands; sure, we see red and white cans that are immediately reminiscent of Coca-Cola, or black and green energy drinks that scream Monster, but actual named brand collaboration is relatively rare. Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2’s Adidas collab comes to mind, but I’m struggling to think of any others.

Brand partnership isn’t inherently bad: as I’ve said, 007 First Light does a great job of getting its product placements in organically, and even the universe of Spider-Man 2 feels like it could plausibly include Adidas. My concern, however, is that other developers see what IOI and Insomniac have done, and seek to flood their single-player titles with brand sponsorships. Just this week, former Bioware legend and Dragon Age icon Mark Darrah suggested that developers could consider movie-esque product placement as a “different way to make money” in a world of rising costs. It’s clearly something developers are considering at triple-A level, even within the single-player space.

In some ways, this is vaguely reminiscent of the Baldur’s Gate 3 debate: post-BG3, every game now has a romance simulator, whether or not it fits with the universe and the gameplay. I can easily see a post-First Light world where developers attempt to emulate what IOI has done, perhaps for immersion, perhaps for pure profit.

My concern, however, is that they miss the big picture: Omega and Aston Martin fit perfectly into James Bond’s world, but don’t exactly work well in a high fantasy universe. It seems obvious; “developers wouldn’t do that.” But still, look at the likes of Call of Duty, a once-gritty war game that has lost its sense of self. It’s happened with Overwatch, which seems to have a new brand collab every week. What is Fortnite, other than an online emporium of mainstream pop culture?

Multiplayer has proven that brand overpopulation is bad; it’s why I’ve fallen off of so many of those aforementioned games. The single-player space has felt somewhat isolated; almost a safe haven. I hope it stays that way, or that developers get clever, just as IO has. I can’t imagine wandering the streets of Sandfall’s next Clair Obscur story and seeing a Franprix on the corner, even if it’s ruined and decayed.