After having a tumultuous year Hitman developer IO Interactive wants you to know it's only just getting started with this whole Hitman thing.
On its official blog, the company posted a thank-you as part of the launch of Hitman's "Game of the Year" edition, which offers every map from the base game as well as some bonus content. The interesting bit, though, was a short tease about the future of the series. "One last thing about our next Hitman game," IOI CEO Hakan Abrak said. "I want to let you know that we’re making great progress and we have exciting new features and some franchise firsts, which we can’t wait to tell you all about."
Abrak didn't offer specific details about whether "our next Hitman game" means a second season for the current Hitman game, or a brand-new endeavor It didn't offer any other details, either, saying only that more details are coming at "some point in 2018."
This bodes well for the company, which was put up for sale off by Square-Enix, suffered layoffs, and gained its independence all in the same year.
Our Take
The wording here shies away, I think, from IOI moving onto a new season and more towards a brand-new game, which is interesting. This could be because while IO has the rights to the Hitman IP, making a new game might be the "cleaner" move legally. This doesn't rule out a Season 2, however, as IO might consider that its own game, in a sense. Either way, I'm glad to hear the studio is at a point where it can focus on plugging away at more Hitman instead of worrying fulltime about its future.