HitmandeveloperIO Interactiveis working on a new fantasy RPG, the studio revealed on February 28. This announcement arrives mere weeks after the companycelebrated its biggestHitman: World of Assassinationupdate to date.
IO Interactive has been on quite a roll since performing a management buyout and gaining independence from its former parent Square Enix in 2017. The company secured rights to theFreedom FightersandHitmanIPs as part of that acquisition, and while it has yet to do anything with the former, the latter proved to be quite a cash cow for the Copenhagen, Denmark-based studio. This is most obviously reflected in the fact thatHitman 3became the most successful series entrywithin months of releasing in early 2021.
RELATED:New Hitman 3 Pirate Map Has Monkey Island Easter Egg
As for what’s next forIO Interactive, this still-untitled fantasy RPG will be its first new IP sinceMini Ninjas,an action-adventure game released for the seventh generation of consoles and PC back in 2009. While the company is describing it as an online game, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be an MMORPG, similar to how theWorld of Assassinationtrilogy ofHitmangames consists of inherently online experiences that don’t offer traditional multiplayer functionality. Either way, the vagueness of today’s announcement indicates it’s targeting the job market instead of consumers, much like CD Projekt Red confirmedCyberpunk 2077in order to draw in prospective hires nearly eight years before releasing the actual game.
The developer’s last annual financial report for the fiscal year that ended July 07, 2025, already suggested as much, stating thatIO Interactive’s next games are still years awayfrom hitting the market. This newly announced fantasy RPG was already hinted at in that previous disclosure under the codename ofProject Dragon, although the studio’s current job openings call itProject Fantasy. Naturally, both of those monikers are tentative.
Apart fromProject Dragon, IO Interactive is currently also working on a mysteriousJames Bondgame code-namedProject 007. Not much is known about that undertaking, either, with previous reports only indicating that the developer is looking to put out a fairly standalone title that doesn’t use the likeness of any past actors who played Bond.
It is hence still difficult to saywhat can be expected fromProject 007andProject Dragon, apart from the fact that the newJames Bondgame will almost certainly beat IO Interactive’s online fantasy RPG to the market. Namely,Project 007has been in development for over two and a half years by now, so between that and the fact it’s based on an established IP licensed from a third party, it’s safe to say it will remain the studio’s priority until release.
MORE:Project 007: 10 Things We’d Love To See In The Upcoming James Bond Game
