It’s likely quite a few fans of the Hitman games were saddened by the fact that Square Enix made the decision of putting the studio behind the games, IO Interactive, up for sale earlier this month.
And it’s possible this came as a shock to many given that the Hitman games have sold millions of copies to date and have a devoted following, while the franchise has also hit the silver screen on two occasions (even if 2015’s Hitman movie wasn’t a masterpiece of cinema to say the least…), while last year’s Hitman game sure was the best we have seen from the studio in years.
But developer IO’s future could now be hanging in the balance, as the continuity of the Hitman franchise depends on whether giant Japanese publisher Square Enix can come to terms with a suitable buyer. But a new development in this story suggests a buyout might be on the cards now, as IO recently tweeted that it was laying out staff so that the studio would be “better equipped for our future adventures”.
An update from the studio: pic.twitter.com/k0aoms5cOQ
— Io-Interactive (@IOInteractive) 23 May 2017
Of course, it’s always a sad thing when studios close down or are forced to let staff go. But clearly IO is in a sticky situation here, and some downsizing might be in order if it wants to survive, now that it has lost the support of a major publisher like Square Enix. So here’s hoping that another publisher picks up IO Interactive, and that we know more about the upcoming season of Hitman the Danish studio was planning to release soon enough.