Hitman Developer IO Interactive And Warner Bros. Team Up For A New Game
IO Interactive and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have joined forces once again to create a new video game, this time without Agent 47 in the leading role.
The two companies first worked together on Hitman 2, the sequel to the 2016 action-stealth title, following IO's separation from former publisher Square Enix. The developer and publisher today announced a worldwide publishing and distribution agreement for a "new console and PC game experience."
"IO Interactive has a proud history of creating compelling characters and universes for our players to enjoy—it's in our DNA," said IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak. "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."
At this stage, both IO and Warner Bros. are giving little away about this new project; however, you can glean a few details from the press release. Abrak's reference to creating a "new universe" implies that they're working on a completely new IP. Warner Bros. uses more vague phrasing, referring to the undertaking as a new "experience."
"IO Interactive has a longstanding legacy of creating iconic games, and we're looking forward to partnering on this next endeavor to bring a new console and PC gaming experience to players globally," commented Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president David Haddad.
It looks like both IO's Copenhagen and Malmö studios will be working on the unnamed project. These details support statements made by Abrak and host Danny O'Dwyer during a Noclip documentary about the Hitman franchise that circulated earlier this year. "The majority of the studio, at least here in Copenhagen, is working on something secret, and rather excitingly, something new," divulged O'Dwyer. "We are still very much independent. We are looking into the future with new things, potentially new IPs that we might be working on," added Abrak.
During the video, Abrak also refers to the Hitman series as a trilogy, openly referencing Hitman 3. While this does not signify that the game has entered active development, it's possible that, with the addition of their Malmö studio in January, the developer now has the resources and manpower to juggle two IPs at once.