Hitman Dev IO Hires Cyberpunk 2077's Lead Gameplay Designer And Former Battlefield Dev

Hitman developer IO Interactive has hired two prominent game developers to support its upcoming projects across the Hitman franchise, as well as the new James Bond game and the studio's unannounced original IP.

Rasmus Hojengaard is now the studio design director, and in that role, he will lead and shape every project that IO Interactive is working on. It's a homecoming of sorts for Hojengaard, as he was previously the game director on 2006's Hitman Blood Money. He left IO to join DICE, where he worked on the Star Wars Battlefront, Battlefield, and Mirror's Edge franchises. Most recently, he was at Rocksteady Studios, the developer of the Batman Arkham series.

The other new hire is Andrzej Zawadzki, who left The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red to join IO. He was the lead gameplay designer on Cyberpunk 2077.

At IO, Zawadzki takes on the role of senior game designer for the studio's unannounced IP. "His experience, drive and imagination will be a crucial part of establishing a completely new universe," the studio said in a blog post.

This new IP is said to be a fantasy game with dragons that could be an Xbox-exclusive, though IO has yet to announce any details officially.

IO also mentioned that Hojengaard and Zawadzki are just two of the new hires at the company. The studio also hired "other top talent" at its studios in Copenhagen, Malmo, and Barcelona. "All of the IO Interactive studios will make a significant impact to all projects," the studio said.

IO's latest game is Hitman 3, which continues to get new DLC, the latest of which was the Season of Pride.