IO Interactive, developer of the Hitman series, is apparently prototyping an exclusive fantasy game for Xbox Game Studios, if new rumors are to be believed. This comes as a surprise to many, as the developer is already working on upcoming James Bond game Project 007, which is presumably taking up a large amount of its time and resources. However, recent expansions may allow for simultaneous work on multiple AAA projects.
According to job listings, the Hitman developer is also making a multiplayer game, but it’s unclear if that unannounced title is linked to this rumored fantasy IP. IO Interactive has been exclusively making Hitman games for the last console generation, so it’s little surprise the studio appears to be ready to branch out. The studio’s style seems like a perfect fit for Bond, but there’s no telling if Project 007 will resemble Hitman or if IO is ready to try different gameplay mechanics and settings entirely.
As reported by Windows Central, it’s rumored that IO Interactive is prototyping a new fantasy IP with dragons as an Xbox-exclusive game. The outlet noted that given the allegedly early state of the deal, the game’s premise, setting, and more are subject to change, if it’s not ultimately scrapped. Nonetheless, it’s likely Project 007 will release well before this unannounced game does.
Because of the project’s reported infancy and IO’s recent upscaling, there’s really no frame of reference for when this game would released. It seems clear that IO Interactive wants to give the Hitman franchise a well-deserved break, so it’s well within the realm of possibility for the studio to be experimenting with unfamiliar IP like Bond and a brand-new series. Not only would this allow the team to flex its creative muscles a bit more than its generally been allowed, but it’ll also drive up more demand and hype for a return to the Hitman franchise should IO do a solid job at maintaining its other franchises.
IO has stressed it will return to Hitman eventually, especially after Hitman 3 had record sales for the series. Regardless, there’s a lot of time between now and then. It’s not remotely clear what this new IP will look like beyond the fact it apparently has dragons, but if it has multiplayer, perhaps there’s a chance IO will try to make some sort of live-service game set in a fantasy world. IO is quickly expanding and a huge partner like Xbox could contribute money and other support, so it’s likely the scale of such a game could be fairly large.
