The Hitman World of Assassination trilogy will end with the release of Hitman 3 on January 20, 2021. The developer, IO Interactive, has been making Hitman games for two decades, starting with Hitman: Codename 47 in 2000. While the developer made a few other games like Freedom Fighters, Kane & Lynch, and Mini Ninjas, they are mostly known for the Hitman franchise. The Danish video game developer wants to change that.
The Future
IO Interactive has already announced that their next working title is Project 007 is based on the iconic James Bond. Mattias Engstrom, Hitman 3 Game Director, recently talked about the future of the studio. He revealed how the studio wants to become a multi-IP studio but still holds the Hitman franchise to heart. He also claimed that Hitman 3 is the very first game they made since becoming an independent studio.
Independent Studio
IO Interactive went through a management buyout from Square Enix, as the massive publisher didn’t have trust in the Hitman franchise anymore. It also might have something to do with the underwhelming sales performance of Hitman 2016. But that could be blamed on the episodic release of the game.
"Hitman and IO Interactive are very, very closely knit, obviously. But I think, moving forward, IO should not necessarily be mentioned as ‘The Hitman studio IO Interactive.’ People should think about IO Interactive as IO Interactive first, creators of different IPs and a place of creativity where Hitman is definitely one of our children, but there are going to be more children in the future. And one of them is 007,” said Hakan Abrak, CEO and co-owner of IO Interactive.
Hitman 3 will release on all major consoles, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia. The best part about Hitman 3 is that if you bought the previous games, the latest improvements in H3 will arrive in those titles as well. Developers confirmed that all three Hitman games will only be 100 GB in size.
So, what do you think? Are you excited about Hitman 3? Have you played any previous games by IO Interactive? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
