Hitman 3 has done gangbusters for IO Interactive, with CEO Hakan Abrak claiming this year's entry was 300% more commercially successful than previous entry Hitman 2.
We called Hitman 3 "IO's most creative and surprising assassination sim yet", and it seems like we weren't alone. In interview with GamesIndustry.biz (above), Abrak explained that Hitman 3 wasn't just the highest-rated critically of the series—it was also the most profitable, despite being the first game entirely self-published by the studio.
That's a welcome turn, considering the first game's failure to meet Square Enix' lofty expectations saw the publisher drop the franchise. In contrast, Hitman 3 made its money back within a week, even as—as Abrak explains in the video—the developer faced "challenges" in adapting to work under Covid 19.
"If there's something that IO knows how to do, it's a Hitman game," said Abrak. "It's just like saying 'I know Kung Fu', we know Hitman."
Hitman seems to have done well enough for IO to open a third studio. The developer announced the opening of IO Barcelona earlier this morning. Along with the existing Copenhagen and Malmö studios, Barcelona will assist in developing IO's Project 007, along with future Hitman content and an unannounced new IP.
IO still has plenty of sinful content in store for Hitman 3, but the chrome-domed killer will be taking a break once that wraps up. Instead, the studio's next project aims to give gaming its own, wholly original James Bond adventure.
