Hitman Dev Working On New IP

[Update] The job ad, which originally indicated IO was working on a new IP, has been updated, no longer mentioning the new project.

[Original story] Hitman developer IO Interactive is working on a new IP, according to a recent job listing.

The job ad states, "The team is currently working on an new unannounced IP," but gives few other clues as to what that might be.

The ad is for a position in the studio's "incubation team," which apparently is "a small team of designers [who] prototype gameplay mechanics in Unreal Engine."

IO's latest title is Hitman, which released in installments throughout 2016 and recently got a disc version. The studio has been associated with Hitman since the series' inception with 2000's Hitman: Codename 47. Outside of Agent 47's adventures, the company has developed Freedom Fighters, Mini Ninjas, and both Kane & Lynch games.

Lead writer Michael Vogt told GameSpot that Hitman could get two more seasons of content. He said the story is "just getting started" when the first season ends.

"We wanted to do a really ambitious storyline that would span several seasons and also build this ensemble cast," he explained. "In the old games, the targets were always the most interesting characters, but then you'd just kill them off instantly and move on to the next one. And now we wanted to build a much bigger main cast that will survive for much longer.

"The story's really only beginning [with the first season]," he continued. "Season 1 is the first act in a feature film. You know all the characters, you know the stakes, you know the dilemma, but it's only getting started."

Hitman was one of GameSpot's favourite games of 2016 and made it to No. 12 on our overall Game of the Year list.