Good news Hitman fans, you can sleep a bit easier tonight. In a statement on their website, Io-Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak said “I am proud to announce today that IOI is now officially an independent studio. We have successfully concluded our negotiations with Square Enix and have agreed to a management buyout. Crucially, we will keep all of the rights to the Hitman IP.” Abrak also mentioned other IP that Io has worked on in the past including Kane & Lynch, Mini Ninjas and Freedom Fighters but did not clarify whether Io had retained the rights to those titles as well, or only kept the Hitman IP.
Abrak closed out his statement by saying “IOI started as an independent studio and we will now return to those roots with an extremely passionate and talented team.” Whether their next project is another Hitman game, or a new IP, we’re excited to see what Io Interactive will do next.