Minus some server issues on its launch day, IO Interactive’sHitman 3launch has been a major success for the developer. AsHitman 3marks the end of “The World of Assassination Trilogy,” IO has announced that the developer is putting theHitmanseries on hiatus while it works on its recently announced007game. While that game is still very far away, IO Interactive has shared a few more details about its upcomingJames Bondvideo game, including that the game will be completely standalone.
IO announced that it is starting development of a brand new007game on November 19th, 2020. Since then, fans have been raving about how the pairing of development and IP are a match made in heaven, with many excited to see IO’s approach to adapting the007franchise given how well regarded its sandbox approach to stealth game design has been with the recentHitmantrilogy. However,development of thisBondgame is still in its early days.
RELATED:What IO Interactive’s James Bond Game Should Borrow From Hitman ( & What It Shouldn’t)
In an interview with TheGamer, IO Interactive has revealed that it is very quickly expanding its development staff before it tackles development of its007game. IO Interactive, which is primarily based in Copenhagen, Denmark, announced the opening of a new studio in Sweden in 2019. The studio currently employs 200 people, but is looking double its staff to 400 for development on007. Studio director Hakan Abrak claimed “Today we [have] 200 employees and I expect that we will [have] over 400 employees over the next few years. So, there is no doubt that the Bond agreement means an insane amount to us.”
Furthermore, while the studio did not reveal any specifics regarding the game itself, IO Interactive has also revealed that its upcoming007game will be a completely original take on Ian Fleming’s suave spy. The studio’s take onJames Bond will not be based on any previous incarnationof the character and will feature an entirely new actor. The studio also revealed that its story is being written to be completely standalone, but it is leaving the door open to develop a trilogy of007games, likely in the style of the World of Assassination trilogy ofHitmangames.
IO Interactive’s007game certainly is a match made in heaven, with MGM and EON Productions notoriously protective of theJames Bondrights, meaning that whatever IO Interactive pitched could besome of the studio’s best work yet. It’s safe to say that IO Interactive has come a long way since splitting from Square Enix in 2017 afterHitman (2016)failed to meet sales expectations. Now, the studio most recently publishedHitman 3independently and has the freedom to work with whatever publishers it wishes to, outside of Square Enix’s control.
This007game also marks the franchise’s return to video games since 2012’s007 Legendsfrom Eurocom and Activision. The007franchise has had some very influential video game adaptations in the past, with the most noteworthy being Rare’s1997 Nintendo 64 first-person shooterGoldeneye 007, which helped define console shooters. While a large amount of the games are based on the film adaptations of Ian Fleming’s novels, theJames Bondfranchise is also among the highest grossing video game series.
