When IO Interactive became independent in 2017, they attracted a lot of interest from companies wanting to buy them out. According to IGN, of the many propositions these companies had, one of them was to make Hitman a free-to-play game, but this didn’t align with IO’s own vision of their game’s future. Instead the studio remained independent and grew the franchise themselves. The latest update to that franchise comes in the form of the Season of Greed roadmap for Hitman 3.
When IO Interactive was about to be dropped by Square Enix after they lost faith in the Hitman franchise, the developer debated whether to become independent or allow themselves to be bought out by another company. During that period, they discussed plans with suitable investors and their visions for the franchise. One of these ideas was to turn Hitman into a free-to-play game. As IO’s CEO and co-owner Hakan Abrak explains: “I think free-to-play is very interesting, I think there are some really cool experiences that are fit for that, but the Hitman that we made in 2016 is not one of them.” By remaining independent, the studio was able to “make fundamental decisions for the studio and our games, within our own halls.” Those visions included a change of direction with Hitman 2 as it moved away from the episodic format, before ending the World of Assassination trilogy with the hugely successful Hitman 3. The latter game continues to add free and premium conten...