IO Interactive, the creators of Hitman, revealed on February 28 that they are working on a new fantasy RPG. This announcement comes just a few weeks after the company celebrated the most significant Hitman: World of Assassination update to date.
Since completing a management buyout and gaining independence from its former parent Square Enix in 2017, IO Interactive has been on a tear. As part of that acquisition, the company acquired the rights to the Freedom Fighters and Hitman IPs, and while the former has yet to be used, the latter has proven to be a cash cow for the Copenhagen, Denmark-based studio. This is most evident in the fact that Hitman 3 became the series’ most successful entry within months of its release in early 2021.
This untitled fantasy RPG will be IO Interactive’s first new IP since Mini Ninjas, an action-adventure game released for the seventh generation of consoles and PC in 2009.
While the company describes it as an online game, this does not necessarily imply that it will be an MMORPG, much like how the World of Assassination trilogy of Hitman games consists of inherently online experiences that do not offer traditional multiplayer functionality. In any case, the ambiguity of today’s announcement suggests it’s aimed at the job market rather than consumers, similar to how CD Projekt Red confirmed Cyberpunk 2077 in order to attract prospective hires nearly eight years before the game was released.
The developer’s most recent annual financial report for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2022, hinted at this, stating that IO Interactive’s next games are still years away from release. This newly announced fantasy RPG was previously hinted at under the codename Project Dragon, though the studio’s current job openings refer to it as Project Fantasy. Naturally, both of those names are provisional.
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