IO Interactive Is "Looking Ahead" To a New Hitman Game, May Have Something New In Store Too

Though Hitman 2 came out less than a year ago, it looks like IO Interactive is already looking at what the future will hold for Agent 47. In an interview, CEO and co-owner Hakan Abrak says the newly independent IO Interactive "might be working on" new IPs, alongside a new Hitman.

In a new documentary from Noclip, Abrak says the studio is looking ahead, and that might include new projects aside from Hitman. (The quote starts around the 36:59 mark.)

"We are still very much independent," Abrak told Noclip. "We're looking into the future with new things, potentially new IPs that we might be working on. And we've created four original IPs from scratch, we've always worked on and created these characters and worlds and what-not, it's a part of our DNA. And I'm looking forward to bringing new stuff as well, apart from growing Hitman into the world."

In a voiceover, Noclip host Danny O'Dwyer also relays that IO Interactive is already looking ahead to Hitman 3, via a new studio in Malmo, Sweden. He also mentions that Abrak told him the new Hitman may once again go episodic.

IO Interactive went independent after splitting off from Square Enix in 2017, managing to keep the rights to the Hitman series in the process. The next few years were tough, as Noclip's documentary details; the studio had to let a lot of people go as part of staying afloat and making Hitman 2.

The ultimate result, though, was a stellar follow-up to the Hitman reboot. In the documentary, Abrak mentions thinking of Hitman as a trilogy, and outlines his hopes of bringing all Hitman levels forward to Hitman 3, much like Hitman 2 did. It sounds incredibly ambitious, but IO seems to have the drive necessary to make it happen.