007 First Light’s Extended Operations update is much more than a maintenance patch. Update 1.3.0 adds free post-launch content including New Game+, Photo Mode, a new 00 difficulty, Valhalla Protocol, Jungle Heist and more than 700 fixes and improvements.
If you already finished the campaign, the useful question is not simply whether there is a new patch. It is what the update actually gives you to do next, what requires a completed playthrough, and which parts are genuinely new playable content.
Is Extended Operations free?
Yes. IO Interactive describes Extended Operations as free DLC delivered through 007 First Light Update 1.3.0.
The update released on October 1, 2026 at 12:00 UTC for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC storefronts.
IO Interactive lists these update sizes:
- PlayStation 5: 11.9 GB
- Steam: 14 GB
- Xbox Series: 13.5 GB
- Microsoft PC: 8 GB
- Epic Games Store: 13.6 GB
Those are the publisher’s listed download sizes for Update 1.3.0. They should not be treated as a guarantee of the final free space required after installation.
How do you unlock New Game+?
You need to complete the entire campaign first.
IO Interactive says a completed playthrough of the full campaign is required to unlock New Game+. You do not need to complete that first playthrough on 00 difficulty.
Once New Game+ is available, it adds more flexibility than a straightforward campaign reset.
What changes in New Game+?
One of the biggest changes is the Mission Wardrobe.
During New Game+, you can use unlocked outfits instead of being restricted to the outfit originally assigned to a mission. IO Interactive says you can open the journal, choose an outfit and restart from a selected checkpoint to use the new look.
Gadget flexibility is also expanded through Gadget on Demand.
You can swap gadgets during a mission rather than waiting for the next chapter, but there is still a story progression rule. Only gadgets that have been unlocked by that point in the campaign can be used.
That means New Game+ does not simply hand you every gadget from the opening mission. It gives you more freedom while preserving the original order in which Q’s equipment becomes available.
What is 00 difficulty?
Extended Operations adds 00 as the game’s new highest difficulty.
IO Interactive says enemies spot Bond faster and hit harder, while resource pickups restore only a fraction of gadget usage compared with lower difficulty settings.
The mode is unlocked after completing the campaign, so it is aimed primarily at players returning for another run rather than someone beginning 007 First Light for the first time.
What is Valhalla Protocol?
Valhalla Protocol is a new TacSim activity built around the Aston Martin Valhalla.
It puts Bond behind the wheel in Slovakia with machine guns and missile launchers available, and the activity is built around driving skill and score chasing.
This matters because Extended Operations is not relying only on replaying the existing campaign through New Game+. Valhalla Protocol is separate playable content inside TacSim.
What is Jungle Heist?
Jungle Heist is another new TacSim addition.
It sends Bond back to The Pearl Hotel in Vietnam to recover documents from a safe inside the villa.
IO Interactive says attempts can play differently, which gives the operation a replay-focused structure rather than treating it as a one-time story mission.
Photo Mode is finally included
Update 1.3.0 also adds Photo Mode.
IO Interactive lists camera settings, overlays, filters, visual effects and poses among its available controls. It is a separate addition from New Game+ and TacSim, so players can use it without committing to another full campaign run.
What about the 700-plus fixes?
IO Interactive says Extended Operations contains more than 700 fixes and improvements.
The patch notes cover crashes, progression blockers, clipping, audio, localization, user-interface polish and a large number of mission-specific corrections.
That number should not be read as 700 major gameplay systems. Many entries are smaller fixes and presentation corrections, while others address more consequential problems such as crashes, broken progression states and achievement issues.
For most returning players, the practical reason to install Extended Operations is the combination of new replay systems and new playable activities rather than the raw fix count.
Does Extended Operations improve performance?
The patch notes include some stability and performance fixes, but IGZ has not tested the update and there is no basis to claim a broad frame-rate improvement from the patch as a whole.
IO Interactive lists individual fixes including reduced memory usage in some audio/effect cases, a performance drop on the Save Slot Selection screen on certain GPUs, crash fixes and visual corrections. Those should be treated as targeted patch-note changes rather than proof that every platform now performs better.
Should you return for Extended Operations?
Players who already completed the campaign have the clearest reason to return.
New Game+ opens outfit and gadget flexibility, 00 difficulty creates a harder replay target, and Valhalla Protocol plus Jungle Heist add TacSim activities that are not simply another run through the existing story.
Photo Mode is useful independently of those systems.
If you have not completed the campaign, you still receive the patch fixes and other available additions, but New Game+ and 00 difficulty are deliberately tied to campaign completion.
Bottom line
Extended Operations is effectively 007 First Light’s first substantial free post-launch expansion.
Update 1.3.0 adds New Game+, 00 difficulty, Photo Mode, new TacSim content and hundreds of fixes. The most important distinction is that it gives returning players both replay tools and genuinely new activities rather than only a longer changelog.
For someone who already completed the campaign, that makes Extended Operations materially different from an ordinary maintenance update.