[UPDATE] Industry veteran George Broussard claims Io Interactive has suffered staff reductions; Square Enix confirms.
Earlier this week, 3D Realms cofounder and Duke Nukem champion George Broussard tipped off the industry to "seasonal roll-offs" at a handful of gaming publisher Electronic Arts' Canadian studios. Today, Broussard returned to his Twitter account with more industry-insider scuttlebutt, stating Square Enix has enacted layoffs and canceled a project at Danish studio Io Interactive.
"Layoffs at Io Interactive (Kane&Lynch/Hitman). As many as 35, and a project cancelled. - Tis' the season," Broussard said via his Twitter feed. The industry veteran offered no other details on the situation.
[UPDATE] Square Enix has since confirmed for GameSpot that Io has indeed been impacted by staff reductions, though a representative declined to offer specifics surrounding the situation.
"I can confirm that we have made some internal changes at IO Interactive which has regrettably resulted in the loss of some jobs," a Square Enix representative told GameSpot. "This is a natural part of any studio's existence when you ramp-up and ramp-down on projects to ensure you have the right level of resource and expertise within the studio. We genuinely wish those who have been affected by this, the best of luck for the future."
Io is among the many studios that were once the backbone of Eidos, before that publisher was purchased in April 2009 by Japanese gaming giant Square Enix. The studio is perhaps best known for its killer-for-hire franchise Hitman, with other game properties including Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas.
As for the canceled project, the only known, unreleased project in Io's stable is Hitman 5, which was first teased in February 2008. However, whether or not Io is developing this project remains a mystery. In August 2009, British actor Mark Sloan indicated that he had completed voice work for the game, in the process indicating that Batman: Arkham Asylum developer Rocksteady Studios had taken over the project.
Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.
after hitman blood money i check the web for the nxt 1 every day and follow it now they say wanna cancel it!!!! i agree wth DarkSpiritWolf2: ..........................HITMAN CAN'T BE ENDED NEVER.......................... ...........................LEGENDS ALWAYS STAY ALIVE...........................
ok im geting pist where are my hitman5 news i want to see the game on the stores shelfs now i have ben waiting so long for the game.
Ive had my eyes on hitman 5 now for the past 2 years and from what i understand they started the project in late 07 to early 08 and have been working on it since. For some reason they decided to focus on K&L which makes me think they might have had some problems in development. I hate to say it but if this one gets through it might be the last one. I hope they at least make one more to end this epic franchise and give it the honors it deserves. Whether they do or not 47 goes down in my book as the most memorable character in the history of gaming and certainly my all time favorite. 47 i salute you.
this arcticle doesnt really say anything about the new Hitman game!indeed it is gonna be a mystery,but it will sell for sure.if it comes out anytime
what is this bull s@#t$ i cant understand it i think they started working on hitman5 in 2007 then why isnt it out allready? oh wait they speant more time on the crapy kane and lanche so called games.
I admit it, while Kane and lynch was flawed and not the greatest value for money I enjoyed it similar to Mini Ninjas and predictably Hitman. But i perfer Freedom Fighters 2 or Kane and Lynch 3 with actual fixes because it does have good potential.
No one is allowed to cancel Hitman 5. If they do, they better prepare for unforeseen consequences.
Maybe now IO will start focusing on making their games of higher quality. I want to see a Hitman 5 and I want it to be friggin' unbelievably amazing.
I happen to have loved most of the games that IO has put out. They have really challenged us with thought provoking characters, gameplay and mature story, which is WAAAAAY more than I can say for 99% of the developers out there. Bash/Blame the K&L series all you want, you just didn't 'get' it and it's entirely your loss. Either way, the real enemy here is the all mighty dollar and corporate greed. This has got to be the worst news I've heard all day...
If they actually made another Hitman this wouldn't be the case. Instead they start a horrible series with Kane and Lynch.
I like how EA constantly adknowledges that they overdo the sports games, yet won't cut back on those projects and actually stop mid-project during the games that are actually good. THEN, they lay off people 2 months before christmas. What slimy, greedy, corporate pricks.
Yeah, I don't trust George Broussard one bit. He's a lying bastard. Instead of saying Duke Forever would be out "When it's done", he should've said "When it's done by a COMPETENT company!" :P I mean really. I'm supposed to trust the guy who delayed Duke 13 years, and Prey 8 years? No. Not happenin.
Who is running the show down there anyhow. People are screaming for the next Hitman, and we get K&L2.
sad to hear... love the Hitman series... hope Rock Steady announce something on the new one soon.
maybe if they released more Hitman games or stimulate the company's value by release Hitman info this wouldnt happen.
I wonder how much of this has to do with the very sh!tty Final Fantasy XIV ? I sincerely hope that it was not Hitman 5 that was canceled :(
Maybe it has to do with reducing expenses so that they can rebalance the books for the mistake that was the in china Final Fanatasy XIV that SE released that's now costing them big time?
Indeed, Freedom Fighters 2 was very much in the making... a while ago; WHERE IS IT NEOW!?!
why was there no sequel for one of the best 3rd person action games ever made??? we want FREEDOM FIGHTERS 2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
freedom fighters and hitman remain unsequeled for nearky 5 years now.... Is anyone really surprised theyre suffering? They deserve to have layoffs... unfortunately its the lower level programmers etc that will get canned, not the money-grubbing higher-ups that made the decisions to avoid the well regarded franchises in lieu of the POS' known as K&L 1 and 2. For once id like to see the people that are actually responsible for a company's failure, take the heat for it.
They should stop pushing crap like Kayne and lynch(whatever) , and start focusing on a series that people actually want, like Hitman.
Well hope they were almost finished and it doesnt affect the game. but man not the news I wanted to hear after these latest releases. I hope this gen goes out with a bang cause... little underwhelmed looking back on it now.
ive been saying for about 2 years that Io were on a path that was going to be thier downfall and seemed to be hellbent on self destruction with thier utter refusal to listen to the fans and concentrate on the Hitman series,more fools them
oh come on we have ben waiting for what 4 years at lest putt a team from IO to fenish the game im a fan of hit man games since the ferst game i sure mess his games in thise days as every fan of MR 47 games do.
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