Now that Hitman developer IO Interactive is parting ways with Square Enix, the future of the flagship franchise is hanging in the balance – and a possible sale of the Hitman IP could be on the cards.
In a financial briefing, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda hinted that the license for Hitman could be sold to IO, saying: "Because the firm is engaged in the development of Hitman and other renowned titles, we are negotiating with prospective external investors capable of ensuring that these titles carry on."
By the sounds of it, the Danish developer has been working on a second season of Hitman and is looking to retain the series as it moves to new pastures. Whether it will be able to keep control of the franchise – or whether another publisher will step in to buy it – remains to be seen. All of us at Push Square hope that the supremely talented people at IO keep their jobs.
Do you think that the Hitman franchise can continue with Square Enix? Could IO Interactive manage as an independent developer, or could they join a new publisher? Pray for Agent 47's future in the comments below.
[source hd.square-enix.com]
Comments 15
I don't understand Square Enix here. Hitman was a massive success, and while it took a little time for people to wrap their head around the model, I think that Season 2 would have been huge.
That said, I'm putting this out there now: Deep Silver will acquire IO Interactive and the Hitman IP. Watch this space.
I get the feeling SE is in the same position that Capcom was in a few years back, where they got a bunch of devs to experiment with new franchises but when they didn't make the cash they needed, pulled back and sold everything off for a quick profit.
How much is FFXV, KH3, and the FF7 Remake costing them? I've always seen Square as a bit of a money pit when it comes to its key franchises and can see this as them thinking Hitman won't make the money in the long term, so it's better for a short term cash injection by selling them.
Hitman is the most relevant it's been in years, probably ever. This is mind boggling to me. Considering how the episodic nature of Hitman worked in their favour, it's incredible to me that they're not capitalising on it.
Season 1 was absolutely tremendous, I still love playing it. It would be a real shame if Hitman was consigned to the virtual void and an even bigger shame if some some really talented people were to lose their jobs, I hope it works out.
I dont understand SQE on this decision, but there is obviously a lot more going on behind the scenes than we will ever get to know.
@get2sammyb If Deep Silver gets it, itll be subject to worse marketing campaigns than Square ever did, and the interior of every box instead of being control information or art, will be technical support and legal info for their parent company.
It'll also be littered with even more dodgy pre-order bonuses like a hard mode. Watch this space.
@BLP_Software Haha, maybe.
I don't get this!
A bald man in a suit assassinates people, not hard to emulate and improve. Flog it.
Whatever happens, I just hope the series continues.
This is weirdness to me. I haven't played but I know a good few people who loved the first 'season'. Square just completely confuse me sometimes. Once you have the game play tools in place you can far easily do multiple seasons at less cost. Seems strange not to keep IO and also let them keep working on it. I hope the devs can get the license.
I really don't understand why getting rid of IO and Hitman would be a good idea for Square considering that Hitman sold pretty well. It's unrealistic that an episodic game in a niche genre such as stealth would sell the 10 million copies they were expecting, so I don't see how Hitman is seen as a failure for them.
Considering that Square have iced both the Deus Ex series and Sleeping Dogs 2 for both apparently "not selling well" - even though Deus Ex is once again in the niche stealth genre and Sleeping Dogs sold damn well for a market awash with open-world sandbox games - maybe we should've expected this.
@Anchorsam_9 both these games in my backlog and enjoy each.
Flogging Hitman? what the... oh.
Can't believe this, been a fan of Hitman since it's very first game Codename 47 on the PC, really enjoyed the lastest one as well, best Hitman since Blood Money. As long as Activision doesn't acquire the rights because we know they will milk the franchise dry.
Had to have something to do with that "episodic" format they experimented with. Smh.
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