The troubled waters for the Danish gamestudio IO Interactive, developer of the renowned Hitman franchise, seems to have cleared. The studio was formerly property of publisher Square Enix and was unexpectedly let go by their Japanese partner after which the studio entered a time of uncertainty. In a statement released by IO Interactive today, the studio announced it has become fully independent while retaining the rights to their beloved Hitman franchise. CEO Hakan Abrak said:
“Therefore 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.”
The full statement by Abrak can be found here. This is great news for the studio and its employees. With the recent success of 2016’s Hitman game, it’s likely the studio will start development of a second ‘season’ or videogame in the same format. At least it will have less obstacles in getting stuff done now Square Enix no longer meddles in their affairs. Hooray.
