Game Studio IO-Interactive Officially Becomes Independent

cageymaru

cageymaru

Fully [H]
Joined
Apr 10, 2003
Messages
22,090
IO-Interactive, the game studio synonymous with critically acclaimed video games such as the Hitman series, has become independent according to a just released company blog post. Many of us wondered if the studio that brought us some of gaming's most grittiest characters such as the protagonists in Kane & Lynch would survive the recent Square Enix announcement that the studio was being sold. Today's announcement states that they have negotiated a management buyout of the studio after being under the Square Enix umbrella for the past eight years and IO-Interactive gets to keep the Hitman IP. As a fan of their products since the beginning, I hope that their next game launch is as successful as the previous titles over the past 19 years that IO-Interactive has been in the video game entertainment business. Congratulations guys on your independence!

There are many tales of hope, dreams, hardship and joy within these walls. We have never strived for the expected or predictable. Instead, we are always in pursuit for what feels original and real. Our passion and determination has never been greater and so that is why we have decided it is not the time to stop as we have many more exciting and original tales to tell.

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. 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.
 
Great to hear. Best of luck to them. I hope they can make another great Hitman.
 
Maybe it will suck less now. The last two games were garbage.
 
Welp, gotta be the odd person out, but I still feel Blood Money is the best one, and I also liked Absolution too, just not as much. :p

Still haven't played the newest one, so my opinion may still change. :)
 
The season was fantastic!
Absolution was meh, but playable.
I like them all though and I'm glad they'll be able to keep going.
 
Good news all around. More developers without the limits and shackles of a publisher is a good thing.
 
Simmonz said:
Good news all around. More developers without the limits and shackles of a publisher is a good thing.
Click to expand...

They may have freed themselves from their shackles, but going that route also means less money. That comes with it's own set of problems.
 
Dan_D said:
They may have freed themselves from their shackles, but going that route also means less money. That comes with it's own set of problems.
Click to expand...

It most certainly does but it hopefully will be worth it. Look at what happened to Obsidian after publishers stopped screwing them over because they went the Kickstarter route: we get POE and Tyranny. I'm not saying every developer striking it out on their own finds that success but I think they've got the name recognition to make it work.
 
Meh, I'd have sold em too. Tried the first or second game, but it felt really uninspired and cheap. Like a saints row that tries to take itself seriously. But I might be wrong it was so long ago, there might have been different reasons for which I disliked it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top