Hitman studio lays off almost half of staff

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Square Enix focuses IO Interactive solely on new Hitman

Hitman developer IO Interactive will lose almost half its staff and all projects aside from a new game in the assassination series, Square Enix Europe announced today. The publisher laid off employees to "align [its] business against a changing and challenging market," GamesIndustry International reports.

Most recent title Hitman: Absolution did not meet Square Enix's sales expectations, but it seems the publisher and developer will double down on the future of the 13-year-old franchise.

Square Enix says it will attempt to relocate staff to other open positions within the company where it is able, and former production director Hannes Seifert will take over as IO's new studio head.

Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.