Now that IO Interactive (IOI) has wrapped up Hitman: World of Assassination, it’s moving on to the next logical step: a James Bond game. But the studio is also moving in a more surprising direction, as it announced today that it’s making an online fantasy RPG. “This idea — that a diverse group of individuals with different skills and strengths can work together and become more than the sum of their parts — is what inspires us,” the studio wrote in a blog post.
Of course, IOI didn’t go into much detail about the project, which it describes as “just the start of our journey into this new world we are making.” However, it did say memories of tabletop fantasy RPGs influenced the decision. “From the Fighting Fantasy books compelling you to choose your path, alone, against wizards, lizards, and thief kings. To the togetherness, camaraderie, agony, and delight found around the tabletop. For some it meant taking the role of a game master: Part storyteller, part AI opponent, part guide, part villain. For everyone around that table it meant creativity, imagination, building a world together, and a shared goal in creating a great game experience.”
The indie studio says the game will be a new IP designed to “entertain players and expand for many years to come.” It says all of its studios, including locations in Copenhagen, Malmö and Barcelona, will work together on the project.
IOI will develop the RPG alongside its upcoming James Bond game, codenamed “Project 007,” which it’s working on with license holders MGM and Eon Productions. It seems a natural fit for the studio, as it could take the beloved core Hitman gameplay, create a new story with new maps, add a James Bond coat of paint and have a game many people would love to play. (It could change its formula more than that, but it won’t need a radical departure.) IOI has said its title would be its own Bond story that won’t use the likenesses of any established Bond actors; the studio even said it could become another spy trilogy. The title doesn’t yet have a release date.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hitman-studio-io-interactive-is-making-a-fantasy-rpg-game-165722089.html?src=rss