Both Hitman and Hitman 2 underwhelmed in the sales department, despite both games reviewing well and being a part of a popular and long-running franchise. And if you were worried this could mean trouble for the newly independent IO Interactive, well, here's some good news: the Danish developer isn't closing down, it's actually expanding.

More specifically, IO Interactive is expanding with a new studio in Malmo, Sweden.

“We are super excited and proud to announce IOI Malmö. We will expand IOI to join a buzzling game developer community and bring our own unique IOI culture to this amazing town”, said Hakan Abrak, CEO, IO Interactive.

The CEO continued:

“Furthermore, this will expand our muscles for creating brand-new and exciting endeavours, new universes, new franchises. In other words, IOI Malmö and Copenhagen are one family”, Hakan Abrak continues.

“The IOI expansion in Malmö was a natural choice as there is a very strong existing video game industry. I believe it has all opportunities to become the epicentre of game development in Scandinavia.”

According to IO Interactive, the studio is already fully operational. And from the sounds of it, the team won't be doing its own projects, but helping and supporting the main studio in Denmark.

However, Abrak does mention that IO ia looking to expand to new franchies as well. And so unless it's dumping Hitman for the time, this seems to suggest it could become a two-game developer, unless Abrak is just generally speaking about the future.

Hitman is a great series with a good amount of history backing it up, but the passion for it doesn't seem as strong as it used to be. And so I'd wager it's time for IO Interactive to move on from the series. It clearly harbors a lot of talent and creativity, and I would love to see it work on something brand-new. It could still even be a stealth game, but just something that isn't based and held down by the Hitman franchise.

Anyway, as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think. What would you like to see IO Interactive work on next?

Posted: Jan 21, 2019 11:56 am
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/01/20/hitman-io-interactive-new-studio-ip/