IO Interactive has released it's annual report for 2020/2021, revealing that the developer brought in record-breaking profits during that time. First shared by gamesindustry.biz, IO has reported a 136% increase in revenue, having made $78 million this year compared to $33 million made the year before.
According to gamesindustry.biz, IO's recent success is mostly down to the commercial performance of Hitman 3. The game earned 300% of its initial sales budget, something which IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak claimed was the result of launching in January, rather than competing with heavy hitters during the holiday season like previous Hitman titles. Hitman 3 eventually went on to recoup its development costs in just under a week and had the franchise's biggest digital launch in its history.
The runaway success of Hitman 3 earlier this year and how crucial it was in IO Interactive's profits means that it's likely we haven't seen the last of Agent 47. In fact, in our interview with executive producer Forest Swartout Large earlier this year, he claimed that the Hitman team is "looking to the future" but doesn't explicitly mention if there are plans for a new game.
As for what we know IO Interactive is currently working on, the developer has a James Bond title in the works that not much is really known about. However, we do know that IO opened a second studio just for the James Bond project and that the game will have a "completely original story" that the team wants to turn into a trilogy.
IO is also currently working on its Seven Deadly Sins DLC campaign for Hitman 3 which takes Agent 47 to a number of existing locations across the Hitman franchise, albeit with new targets and environments themed around one of the seven deadly sins. Hitman 3's Season of Envy has recently kicked off and is the penultimate season of the DLC.