Last week, Amazon gaming general manager Jeff Gattis rather put the cat amongst the pigeons when talking about James Bond's future in games now IO Interactive's 007 First Light is out. He was cited by Polygon as having said that, since they'll be happening post-Amazon's acquisition of the full Bond rights, any follow-up would be "done by MGM and, theoretically, by Amazon Game Studios".

When asked about Gattis' comments, Amazon were quick to declare that it's "still too early to discuss future projects". Now, Gattis himself has claimed that he never confirmed Amazon Game Studios would be publishing the next Bond game, while once again not setting in stone whether IO Interactive will be returning as its developers.

Pressed on the issue of Bond's future by the Ian Games Network, Gattis attempted to "set the record straight". "I did not confirm that Amazon Game Studios is publishing the next one. Did not say that," he said. "So unfortunately, it got picked up, and once it runs, it runs. No, IO's been great. They've been great partners. In fact, I was over there visiting them in Copenhagen a couple of months ago. The game's doing great. Let's let the game breathe and have its day."

At the very least, as before, the exec was comfortable suggesting a sequel is likely to happen. "Trust that we're going to be smart about this," he added. "I mean, it's market appetite. As long as we feel there's a desire for players to have the game, it’s safe to say it's going to be made." As of writing, there's just no commitment to what said sequel will look like once it's made, or more importantly who'll be doing the making. Or the publishing for that matter, now Gattis has refuted what his previous comments had appeared to point to.

As much as I'd like to trust that Amazon are going to be smart about these Bond sequels, Gattis struggling to talk about the series' future without tripping and falling into a pool like a goon 007's just biffed hasn't done much to bolster my faith. Sure, it's probably tough to weave a suitably attractive verbal tapestry around things that are still up in the air, but alluding to Bonds being "done by MGM and, theoretically, by Amazon Game Studios" seems more likely to be inelegant wording on Gattis' part than him being stitched up to my eye. That's without having read the full set of interview quotes though, as they don't seem to have been published as of writing, so there is still a possibility Gattis was strapped to a solid gold table with a laser inching towards his nuts.

As I noted previously, given how much First Light points in the direction of IO yearning to dig into sequels sharpish, I'd be surprised if they don't return as Bond's devs pending any big blowup with Amazon. It's the smart choice, we shall see if Amazon are the smart choosers Gattis claims.