007 First Light adds New Game+, Photo Mode and 00 Difficulty in Free DLC

IO Interactive has just released Extended Operations, a free DLC for 007 First Light that arrives alongside update 1.3.0. You can download it now on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. According to information reported by Vandal, the package brings New Game+, a photo mode, a difficulty level called "00", new content for TacSim and more than 700 improvements.

Why does it matter? Because this goes far beyond a maintenance patch. These are features the community has been asking for since Bond's adventure launched, and they come at no cost. In a campaign-focused game, adding replayability and an extra challenge is the difference between uninstalling it when the credits roll and sticking with it for several more weeks.

What you need to know

• Extended Operations is free and arrives with update 1.3.0 on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
• New Game+ lets you replay the campaign while keeping the progress you've already made.
• Photo mode is finally here, one of the most frequent requests from players.
• The new "00" difficulty is designed for anyone looking for an even greater challenge in the campaign.
• TacSim, the challenge mode, adds missions such as Jungle Heist, which takes you back to The Pearl, in Vietnam.

What changes and who it affects

The biggest change is New Game+. Until now, finishing 007 First Light left you little to do beyond replaying individual missions. With this option, everything you unlocked in your first playthrough carries over to the next. That changes how you replay the game: you can try different approaches, take more aggressive routes or focus on stealth without starting from scratch. For players who love squeezing every last drop out of a game's systems, it's exactly what was missing.

The "00" difficulty is aimed at the most demanding players. The name is a perfect fit for the Bond universe, and the promise is clear: a challenge beyond what the original campaign offered. The source doesn't detail which specific changes it introduces, so we'll have to try it to find out whether it's truly punishing or just inflates the numbers. Either way, combined with New Game+, it creates the ideal setup for anyone who wants to take on the game at its toughest.

TacSim grows: Jungle Heist and more

The TacSim mode also gets new content. The most notable addition is Jungle Heist, which takes Bond back to The Pearl, the Vietnam compound we already explored in the main story. Reusing a familiar location makes sense: you know the terrain, so the fun lies in discovering how it's been reworked as a challenge. Vandal also mentions Valhalla Protocol as another of the anticipated additions in this batch, although we'd rather not share details we haven't confirmed.

Photo mode, a gift for creators

It may seem like a minor addition, but photo mode is gold for content creators. Thumbnails, cover images, social media posts, stream backgrounds: having full camera control in a game with such a cinematic atmosphere opens up plenty of possibilities. It was one of the most talked-about omissions, and it makes sense that it arrived in this package.

Our take

Here at Underworld Lordz, we're clear on this: it's a smart move by IO Interactive. Releasing features the community asked for at no cost builds trust, and trust is hard to win back once it's lost. Many studios would have charged separately for New Game+ or the extra difficulty. Here they come free of charge, along with more than 700 improvements, a figure that points to a considerable amount of polish, although we'll have to see in-game how many of them are actually noticeable.

We also need to be critical. The fact that photo mode and New Game+ weren't there from day one says something about how many games launch today: with the bare essentials and promises to fill in the rest later. We're glad they're here, but we shouldn't normalize something so standard in action games being treated as an "extra" months later.

For competitive players, the appeal lies in TacSim and the "00" difficulty. That's where informal leaderboards, community challenges and, why not, speedrun races with their own rules could emerge. If IO keeps feeding TacSim with content of this caliber, 007 First Light could enjoy a longer competitive life than many expected from a campaign-driven game.

What do you think?

Are you going to put on Bond's tuxedo again with this update, or are you already done with it? Let us know in the team chat or on our Discord: would you dare to complete the entire campaign on "00" difficulty with New Game+, or would you rather test yourself in the TacSim challenges?