Looking forward: Hitman developer IO Interactive is developing a James Bond game that looks promising. The studio isn’t ready to share major details about the project just yet, but it did shed some light on how its revival of the Hitman series led from work on Agent 47 to Agent 007.
In an interview with Eurogamer this week, Hitman developer IO Interactive talked about the how and why Established To follow up the hit series of assassinations with a game about iconic spy Ian Fleming, James Bond. The discussion around the idea started much earlier than some might expect.
Fans of IO’s recent work will likely be intrigued to see the company working on 007 because the gameplay structure of the last three Hitman games seems a logical fit for Bond. The company has proven its ability to place undercover social action in various locations around the world – a staple of Bond films.
One would think that IO, Eon Productions, and MGM would become interested in a new 007 game after the success of the 2016 Hitman title and its sequels. However, the idea came about in 2013 when IO started working on reinventing Hitman.
Ex studio Wire about the hardships surrounding the poor reception of 2012’s Hitman Absolution. Since the release of Hitman: Blood Money in 2006, IO has somewhat wandered in the wild, and the failure of Absolution forced the studio to rethink everything it was doing.
When IO began building the concept for a Hitman revival in 2013, Christian Elverdam, co-owner of the company, said discussion about a fantasy spy game quickly ensued. Not long after that, the idea of ​​connecting 007 to fiction became strong enough to ask the studio about it from MGM and Eon.
When IO announced “Project 007” in 2020, it was lost open The game will be an origin story not based on any of the movies. This detail alone is important because nearly every Bond game has either been a direct adaptation of a movie or been based on material from it. Co-owner Hakan Abrak said that the next IO game will be something that this medium can call its own that stands alongside the movies.
Another reason the title could be important is that it will be the first 007 game in over a decade. The last title the character appeared in was 2012’s 007 Legends, a celebration of the multiple Bond films. The game was so unsuccessful that it led to the closure of the 25-year-old Eurocom. A few months after launch, 007 Legends and other Activision Bond games (including Blood Stone) to cross out From digital storefronts due to loss of the publisher’s IP license.
As for Hitman, IO says the series is on hiatus because it focuses on Bond and could potentially be its next MMO project.
