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IO Interactive (Hitman) apparently healthy enough to start hiring staff again

Nirolak

Nirolak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,660
Things are apparently going well enough at IO Interactive from a financial perspective (maybe they got a publishing partner?) that they're now hiring a bunch of staff again.

When Square Enix first announced they were dropping the studio, they first had them drop all their open job postings except for the two to add multiplayer to their engine.

Afterwards, they laid off more staff in a final bid to help sell the studio.

IO didn't add any new job postings (beyond leaving the multiplayer ones up) after buying themselves back for quite a while, but now they're back up to nine openings.

I thought people might be interested since they seemed like they could still be in a precarious position after buying themselves given the cost of running a studio of that size was likely $1-$2 million a month.

The job page itself: https://www.ioi.dk/jobs/

Edit:

Shiggy noticed this. Apparently Square Enix laid off 70 staff back before they cut them loose, and with their much reduced size, they thought they could continue on without external funding.

They probably got some though given they're hiring now.

Shiggy said:
From their annual report:
screenshot2017-11-01azys0a.png
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Alexander DeLarge

Alexander DeLarge

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,277
This is great news. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of the paid upgrade for the remixed missions, I'll be picking it up to support them. I'm incredibly excited to see where the Hitman IP goes from here.

It's just a shame they didn't get Kane & Lynch too.
 
BernardoOne

BernardoOne

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,289
Nice to see. Hopefully the new GOTY edition and Patient Zero Campaign do well, i really want that season 2.
 
jakoo

jakoo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,112
Good for IO. I didn't like Hitman much but I respected the quality of the game and how unique the content delivery model was. I'm glad they seem to be on their feet again.

Has any video game publisher/developer "divorce" gone as smoothly (at least publicly) as the one between IO and SqEnix appeared to go? This seems like a bright spot in an industry where typically it's easier to just shutter a studio and move on.
 
Damn Silly

Damn Silly

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,194
Great to hear. Only got round to Hitman (2016) fairly recently, but loved it so I'm glad to see the future looks bright.
 
OP
OP
Nirolak

Nirolak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,660
jakoo said:
Good for IO. I didn't like Hitman much but I respected the quality of the game and how unique the content delivery model was. I'm glad they seem to be on their feet again.

Has any video game publisher/developer "divorce" gone as smoothly (at least publicly) as the one between IO and SqEnix appeared to go? This seems like a bright spot in an industry where typically it's easier to just shutter a studio and move on.
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Activision sold Massive (Ground Control, World in Conflict) to Ubisoft, who then had them make The Division (the fastest selling new IP of all time).

Mind, there was a lot of ramp up time involved there, but they did manage to succeed greatly at their new home.
 
LossAversion

LossAversion

The Merchant of ERA
Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,704
I'm rooting for them. I've been a Hitman fan since I was in middle school.
 
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The King beyond the wall

The King beyond the wall

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
977
This is great news. Are they licensing the Hitman franchise from SE or do they outright own it? If the latter, its incredible that SE would let it go - it shows how much, or how little, they value it.
 
Kage Maru

Kage Maru

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,804
Awesome news. When I'm not so financially strapped, I do plan on buying season one. I've heard too many good things about it to put it off any longer than I need to.
 
Derrick01

Derrick01

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,289
They deserve all the money for what they did with the newest Hitman.

I also think it's ironic that this was probably the best example of GaaS done right, and the industry didn't reward them with it. People want to get ripped off.
 
Millions

Millions

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17
echoing others, I will definitely buy the upgrade just to help make Season 2 happen. I need Season 2.
 
Hindle

Hindle

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
1,449
Who' funding them then? It' good to hear things are looking up. Hitman S1 is how all single player games should be handled going forward
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,865
Bought Hitman and Absolution in june and I can safely say that the former is the best hitman i've played while the latter is the worst. This turnaround is unexpected, sad to see people will never experience it because of an irrational hatred of episodic content. I know there is a GOTY version now, but I don't see them putting the money where their mouth are
 
FinalDasa

FinalDasa

Member
Oct 27, 2017
50
Florida
I wouldn't say this is a sign of complete financial health, revenue and profit would be better indicators of that.
However this is a hopeful sign that IO is in position to properly prepare for future development.
 
OP
OP
Nirolak

Nirolak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,660
Hindle said:
Who' funding them then? It' good to hear things are looking up. Hitman S1 is how all single player games should be handled going forward
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I'm guessing they got a venture capital investment to do the buyback, but that likely would have only come with like six months of run time to find a publisher, since a VC firm isn't going to want to fund an entire game.
 
jakoo

jakoo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,112
Nirolak said:
Activision sold Massive (Ground Control, World in Conflict) to Ubisoft, who then had them make The Division (the fastest selling new IP of all time).

Mind, there was a lot of ramp up time involved there, but they did manage to succeed greatly at their new home.
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Interesting, I thought Massive was a homegrown Ubisoft studio. Good stuff!
 
Hindle

Hindle

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
1,449
Nirolak said:
I'm guessing they got a venture capital investment to do the buyback, but that likely would have only come with like six months of run time to find a publisher, since a VC firm isn't going to want to fund an entire game.
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That will be how Hitman S2 gets made hopefully. I the majority of dev on the game is done. They just need money for marketing.
 
OP
OP
Nirolak

Nirolak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,660
I'm personally expecting Warner Bros to publish Season 2 as a new product, but I could easily be wrong.

They're pretty aggressively interested in expanding, and there are very few good options right now.

Edit:

After seeing Shiggy's post, I change my expectation to 505 Games.
 
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Pakesaker

Pakesaker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
568
Omaha, NE
I'm all in for season two. Season one was one of my favorite games of the past couple years and I got 50+ hours of enjoyment and didn't even dive into custom challenges, contracts, escalations, etc. I know it's divisive but I really think the episodic format worked well for this game, at least it did for me. It gave me time to replay and complete each location, I ended up really appreciating each environment more and playing each one multiple times.
 

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Akai

Akai

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,045
Give me Season 2 and I'll give you more money. :P

Seriously, I wish them the best. The 1st Season was great and I'm looking forward to future content.
 
HugoLiu

HugoLiu

Member
Oct 30, 2017
163
Bought Hitman season 1 for only $20, and it's the best $20 one can ever have, will support to buy the GOTY edition next week.
 
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Crisis Dino
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
38,506
Ibis Island
Alexander DeLarge said:
This is great news. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of the paid upgrade for the remixed missions, I'll be picking it up to support them. I'm incredibly excited to see where the Hitman IP goes from here.

It's just a shame they didn't get Kane & Lynch too.
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It is. Since I doubt Square ever touches that series again.
With IO I at least might've gotten some teases in their games.
 
woolyninja

woolyninja

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,028
One of the most deserved success stories in gaming. I had zero interest in Hitman. Never played any of the games but the concept just didn't strike me as fun. Anyway, fast forward to half a year ago there was so much positive word of mouth that I caved and bought the entire thing during the $30 sale.

L.O.V.E.D IT!

As soon as I started playing the tutorial mission I was shocked at how much flexibility they give the player for completing the goals. Its mind blowing really. Sure every once in a while it doesn't work 100% perfectly but those moments are few and far between. This game is fantastic!

I also wanted to mention the season format. Yet another thing that I thought was a bad idea about the game but after having played it I wish I would've played it episodically on release as it would've forced me to not rush though the giant levels and instead take my time and do everything. Instead because I wanted to see what was next I would normally rush through a level, beat it and go onto the next one instantly.

Anyway, sorry for the rant but congrats to IO! Well deserved!
 
Artifice

Artifice

Member
Oct 30, 2017
458
I love Uncharted and TLOU, but it is this game I replay over and over again. Just to try things a little differently each time.

I will be down with season 2 day 1!!! I would love something like "A New Life" in season 2. It was a small area but there were so many ways to accomplish the goals it was crazy.

Also waiting for the new campaign Nov 7.
 
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