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IO Interactive says it was in danger of having to close down before the decision to focus on Hitman for its 2016 release.
Speaking to Game Informer, IO recalled facing trouble in the early 2010's after a string of original titles like Mini Ninjas and the Kane & Lynch duology. These were followed by 2012's Hitman: Absolution which was successful – but failed to meet Square Enix's expectations (stop me if you've heard that before). The studio went through substantial layoffs in 2010 and 2013 which saw it go from roughly 200 employees to just 70.
"We were in a really, really bad spot. We only had three months to survive," explains IO Interactive CEO, Hakan Abrak. This led to the studio "making some tough decisions," but Abrak explains that despite the hardship, the studio was "sticking to and believing in Hitman 2016 - that vision that we had already laid out in 2013 - we believed in that direction."
"I think Hitman, as a franchise, and our fan base and community, has never been in a better place than we are today, and we are so proud of that." Abrak says. He adds that the studio is proud of its journey, saying, "being independent and financing your own game, publishing your own game, standing on your own feet, especially today, in these times in the industry, being one of the Last Mohicans left: a triple-A, independent studio where we're not public, we're not owned by a big corporation. We are privately owned, and it's almost like you can count us on one hand."
And as we know now as IO Interactive is thriving as an independent developer – outside of the MindsEye debacle – the gamble paid off, as Hitman World of Assassination trilogy stands as one of the greatest games of all time and the studio works on one of the most exciting-looking James Bond titles ever with 007 First Light.
