Hitman developer IO reveals brand-new fantasy online RPG

Hitman developer IO Interactive is developing an online fantasy role-playing game that’s set in a “new world, [and] a new IP,” and will “expand for many years to come,” the studio announced Tuesday. Based on that description, and a single piece of artwork (that looks pretty darn Warcraft-y), it’s a big swerve for the studio known for its work on Hitman and Kane & Lynch.

IO Interactive says the new project is a new adventure for the studio, and a “deeply personal one.” Like similar forward-looking announcements from Blizzard Entertainment, Crytek, and CD Projekt Red, the early announcement of IO Interactive’s new game is also a clarion call that it’s actively hiring.

Here’s how the developer explains its new project:

For many, this journey is also a deeply personal one that began long before we started making games for a living – and it started with the fantasy genre. From the “Fighting Fantasy” books compelling you to choose your path, alone, against wizards, lizards, and thief kings. You will find joy in the camaraderie, joy, togetherness and agony around the tabletop. Some people had to play the part of game master. Part storyteller and AI opponent. Part guide. It was a time for creativity, imagination and the sharing of a common goal: creating great games.

This idea – that a diverse group of individuals with different skills and strengths can work together and become more than the sum of their parts – is what inspires us. It inspires the fantasy world we are building – and it inspires how we build it.

IO’s fantasy RPG may be the project known as “Dragon,” which Windows Central reported on in 2021. Early descriptions of Project Dragon said the title would be a multiplayer game with a “connected-world RPG” design. It is believed that the game will be constantly updated. This would make it a live-service version of Destiny 2And World of Warcraft. Project Dragon may be developed by Microsoft with some Xbox exclusivity.

IO Interactive has just released the Freelancer mode. Hitman World of AssassinationRelease, the new name for Hitman 3(which includes now) HitmanAnd Hitman 2 content). IO has announced a new 2020 game project: a game based upon the James Bond franchise. Project 007.