The camera lingers for just a moment – Bond walks through the entrance hall of the MI6 / Universal Exports building, discreet earbuds in place. At the reception desk, he casually removes them. Later, in the crush of a nightclub crowd, they’re back. In the reveal trailer for 007: First Light, they seemed like nothing more than cutscene dressing – subtle, stylish, and purely cinematic, the kind of gadget you only “use” indirectly when M or another handler speaks to you mid-mission.
Fans might have felt a flicker of déjà vu. In-ear devices have been part of Bond’s modern toolkit since Casino Royale’s Miami Airport sequence, through the Quantum of Solace Opera infiltration, and into tactical moments in Skyfall. Always sleek, almost invisible – but vital for keeping Bond connected under pressure.
Fun fact: In the opening of Casino Royale in Madagascar, Bond warns his teammate not to touch his ear while using the earbuds because it’s too obvious. In the club scene of the 007: First Light trailer (see article header image), however, it’s Bond himself – still a 00 candidate in training– who makes that very mistake, subtly reaching for his ear to hear better, a tell that’s easy to spot if you’re looking.
Now, a newly released preview image – shared by IO Interactive on social media – for the 1 million wishlists milestone rewards changes the game: the earbuds are shown with a charging/storage case and – crucially – the option for custom gadget skins, with the one shown here called Silvertone.
Skins Suggest Player-Controlled Use
IO Interactive doesn’t usually create skins for items that only appear in cinematics. This strongly suggests the earbuds will be player-usable gadgets, opening up new tactical possibilities.
Possible Gameplay Functions
- Real-time communication with allies to coordinate objectives – or even allow Bond to place calls himself, perhaps to distract or lure NPCs away from an area
- Ability to disrupt or even hack enemy radio communications, potentially cutting them off from reinforcements or feeding them false intel
- Directional microphone mode to eavesdrop from a distance
- Active sonar scanning, as hinted by the environment scan seen in the trailer – mapping rooms, detecting movement, or highlighting points of interest without Bond pulling out a separate tool
Do Tiny Gadgets Need Skins?
You might wonder: they’re so small – will you even notice? IOI has answered that before. In the Hitman series, even Agent 47’s coins had multiple variants, from the plain Classic Coin to the ICA Token and Bartoli Gold Coin. Expect the same attention to detail here – with visible differences in inventory views, close-ups, and cutscenes that reward players who pay attention.
With so many gadgets already teased – from high-tech comms to classic spy tools – these earbuds could become one of the most interactive and multi-functional devices in Bond’s arsenal.
If you could add one feature to Bond’s earbuds, what would it be?
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