Planned for PC and consoles
IO Interactive isn’t just figuring out the future of Hitman – it’s also working on a “new universe.”
The developer previously spoke about Hitman 3 and its plans for a new video game property in a Noclip documentary from July. Now, IO has shared a few more details about the all-new game – the studio’s first big departure since 2010’s Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days – and also announced a publishing partner on the project: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. The two companies worked together on Hitman 2 last year and the Hitman HD collection this year, and they apparently aren’t tired of each other yet.
“IO Interactive has a proud history of creating compelling characters and universes for our players to enjoy – it’s in our DNA,” said CEO Hakan Abrak in a press release. “As we embark on this exciting project to create a new universe for IOI together with Warner Bros., we’re currently looking for ambitious talent to join our team in our Copenhagen and Malmö studios for this extraordinary journey.”
In its announcement, Warner Bros. said that both of IO’s studios will be “integral” to the new game.
Hitman 2 isn’t going anywhere. Here’s the most recent content roadmap.
Obviously, we don’t have much to go on yet other than IO Interactive’s track record (which also includes Freedom Fighters), but we do know this will be a PC and (presumably next-gen) console project.
My favorite part of a new console generation is seeing genuinely new games try to prove themselves – that’s always the hope, at least – and I’m curious to see what the current IO staff can dream up when they’re free to venture outside of the Hitman sandbox and everything that could and should entail.
Ever since their Square Enix split, I’ve been rooting for these developers extra hard.
