Although the Hitman franchise is on a hiatus, IO Interactive still have plans for an upcoming game inspired by 007 himself. Here’s what we know so far.
First announced back in 2020, IO Interactive’s Bond game hasn’t received too many updates. However, that is set to change after an interview between Eurogamer and chief creative officer and co-owner of the studio Christian Elverdam. They were also accompanied by fellow co-owner Hakan Abrak.
From Hitman to 007
This news comes after they recently announced that Hitman would be on hiatus for the indefinite future.
The interview touched upon their former franchise as well as their upcoming one inspired by James Bond. The questions focused on how they were going to approach this story as well as detailing how the whole pitching process went.
“First of all, it’s extremely awe-inspiring and literally just inspiring to work with the team at Eon [Productions], the people who are behind everything Bond,” said Elverdam.
“Obviously for them, that is their role in the Bond franchise. So for us it’s been about finding a mutual understanding of ‘what is James Bond about… and as we’ve talked about, we’re doing an origin [story], because one thing, to show the trust they’ve instilled in us, is that we’re allowed to build a James Bond for the games [audience].
“Which I think is a profound homage to where our industry is and where the medium is, in the sense that yes, it’s time to have a James Bond character who was not a movie character but who’s comfortably just his own game character.”
Years in the making
It also seems like a 007 game has been on the docket for a long time for IO Interactive. Back in 2013 when the studio was redesigning Hitman, the Bond idea was first voiced. A simple “what if?” became what we have today and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long.
For Abrak however, he wants their 007 to stand up against the many adaptations of the spy. He wants to stay clear of “capitalising on IP.”
For now, that is all the information we have about the upcoming 007 by the Hitman team. Are you excited to play as Bond in the future? Let us know across our social media platforms.