The developer of theHitmanseries as well as theKane & Lynchgames, IO Interactive, has announced the opening of a new studio. IOI Barcelona, as it is known, joins IOI Copenhagen and IOI Malmo as the third studio under the umbrella of IO Interactive.
IO Interactive started life in Copenhagen back in 1998 and was previously owned bySquare Enix until a management buyout in 2017. The studio has been independent since then, adding IOI Malmo to the developer’s studio list in 2019 and producingHitman 3this past January.
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The announcement states that this studio is located in the heart of the city of Barcelona and will work on equal terms and in tandem with the other two. The three studios are set to work cooperatively on the developer’s ongoing projects and universes, including the well-knownHitmanseries,Project 007(a planned James Bond video game), as well as an unannounced new IP. IO Interactive states that this studio’s team is already in place as of the announcement and that it will be a key piece to the video game developer’s long term plans. This news comes shortly after the release ofHitman 3back in January of this year.
This news likely bodes well for fans of IO Interactive as a third studio was quite unthinkable just a handful of years ago. When Square Enix announced the conclusion of its dealings with IO, the developer was left in a limbo-like state. The management buy-out has led to general success in both games-released and now through the addition of two studios. Its latest release,Hitman 3, has seen great success from favorable reviews to higherlaunch sales than the previousHitman 2.
The success ofHitman 3was reason enough for IO fansto be pleased but the addition of a studio in Barcelona has given them an overwhelming reason to celebrate. IO Barcelona will likely greatly benefit the developer’s planned future titles and should ease the burden the other studios have had to take on thus far. The uncertainty of 2017 seems like ages ago now and that is only good news for IO and their fans.
However, the formula has already proven to be a success for IO Interactive. IOI Copenhagen and IOI Malmo have produced a great game inHitman 3and the team at the new studio remains an unknown quantity. Noting that, though, the move is likely only to benefit the growing developer whose long-term visionincludes more games and fresh IPs.
