u/Gallicah

First off, I get that people are excited for this game. I am as well! But I've noticed some folks keep making excuses for everything IO Interactive does, and automatically downvoting any bit of discussion that might come off slightly negative. I also get there are "doom posters" and people genuinely being toxic that are not acting in good faith. Totally fair.

However, I do think 007 First Light has some genuine concerns/ potential red flags about its launch.

• Review codes still have not gone out to any US outlets. A month back PR was openly coordinating reviews with folks, and now they have ghosted everyone. No updates. Just silence. Even if review codes get sent out on Friday, that gives writers just 3 and a half days to review a 20 hour game.
• Digital Foundry was given a small slice/vertical of gameplay for their "performance preview". It was a sponsored video. They do not have a full review build, nor do they have a code.
• Press who played the game for previews a month ago, only got to play 3 hours of 007 First Light. No one can confirm what build of the game it was. Even if it was PS5/console, it doesn't mean it was a final build. So performance impressions are kind of dubious at best.
• IO Interactive added last-minute Denuvo DRM to their PC release. While I get that most PC games have DRM, they chose the worst software possible that impacts performance, and waited to the last second to disclose it.

If none of these are a concern to you, that is totally fine. I fully respect that opinion. You shouldn't be any less excited for 007 First Light. But I don't think people are in the wrong for being worried. Some of the way this launch is being handled is odd/unusual.

I also don't think reviews are being kept away from outlets, because of story spoilers or recent steam leaks. A month back they were offering PS5 and Xbox codes. For the record I have rarely seen a game launch like this. And the few times this has happened, there were performance issues being hidden.

Hopefully the game is amazing and has zero problems. But I'm starting to get worried when I take in the larger context of everything. If you don't agree with any of the above, that is totally fair.

UPDATE: I also wanted to add there is a group of accounts on this subreddit that keep claiming that review codes are out and the embargo will be the 25th. This is not true. I have verified with multiple major outlets. No one in the US has keys. These same accounts keep mass downvoting anyone who says otherwise. No idea if they are just fan boys, or its astroturfing. Again it's very strange.