IO-Intercative is now an independent studio, owns the full rights to the Hitman IP


IO Interactive has just announced that it is now officially an independent studio. This basically means that the studio will have complete control over its direction and the Hitman IP. Yeap, you read that right; IO Interactive will keep all of the rights to the Hitman IP.

As Hakan, Studio Head at Io-Interactive, 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.

This is a watershed moment for IOI. As of today, we have complete control over the direction for our studio and the Hitman IP – we’re about to forge our own future and it’s incredibly exciting. We are now open to opportunities with future collaborators and partners to help strengthen us as a studio and ensure that we can produce the best games possible for our community.”

Our guess is that IO Interactive will keep working on the second season of Hitman for the time being.

Nevertheless, this is great news for IO Interactive (unless of course it does not come up with a great game that publishers will be willing to support; an issue that most independent studios currently face)!