Hitman Series Taking A Break As Dev Focuses On James Bond

IO Interactive CEO and co-owner Hakan Abrak has confirmed that the Hitman series is taking a break as the studio focuses on its new James Bond game. The Hitman series will continue, and more DLC is planned for Hitman 3 specifically, but you should expect Agent 47 to take some time off.

"Our thinking right now is, Agent 47 deserves a bit of a rest," Abrak told IGN. "He's been busy the last three games."

January 2021's Hitman 3 was positioned as the third game in a trilogy, so it makes sense that IO would give the franchise a rest for now. Abrak mentioned that IO remains committed to Hitman 3 and it plans to continue to update and support the game in the future.

Even if Agent 47 is taking some time off, Abrak said you can be sure the franchise will return at some point down the road.

"This is not the end of Agent 47. I just want to make sure everybody knows that," he said. "As we talked about before, it's synonymous with IO, it's a very beloved franchise of ours and, of course, Hitman will continue. Agent 47, maybe, is going to take a bit of a rest, but that doesn't mean that we're not working on some cool, cool stuff within the World of Assassination. So, there's definitely activity coming and I'm looking forward to talking about that sometime in the future."

If Hitman 3 is the final entry in the main series for some time, Agent 47 heads off for some rest and relaxation on a good note. Hitman 3 launched in January to rave reviews and the best digital sales in franchise history.

Outside of the Hitman game series, a Hitman TV show is in the works. It's a prequel to the games, and as such, Agent 47 will have hair.

IO's next project is its new James Bond game, which appears to be in the early stages of development. IO is hiring 200 people to work on this game and others within the studio.

Recently, Abrak shared more insight on what IO is trying to achieve with the game.

"Every Bond kind of defines a generation and it's amazing how they kept reinventing themselves over so many years," he said. "So, we're not only inspired by one movie, or games and whatnot. We're inspired by the whole thing, and just sucking things into us to make an original Bond, an original story, but that is absolutely true and recognizable in the values there is in Bond. I'm really looking forward to creating a new community that the gamers can call their own."