Hitman developer IO Interactive is working on a new James Bond game

By Giovanni Colantonio Updated November 19, 2020

The team behind the Hitman series is working on a new James Bond video game. The project’s current working title is Project 007.

Developer IO Interactive revealed the news with a brief teaser trailer that features the iconic James Bond theme and gun barrel. The trailer doesn’t explain much more, other than confirming that IO is developing and publishing the title itself. The game will be the company’s second self-published game following next year’s Hitman 3.

On its Twitter account, IO says that the game is a “brand-new James Bond video game with a wholly original story.” Project 007 is described as the “very first” James Bond origin story, which reveals how the character got his 00 status.

Project @007 (working title) is a brand new James Bond video game with a wholly original story.

Earn your 00 status in the very first James Bond origin story, to be developed and published by @IOInteractive.

More details: https://t.co/x2QeO2VKZB pic.twitter.com/d9aDhAbe90

— IO Interactive (@IOInteractive) November 19, 2020

While the announcement doesn’t mention anything about the game’s genre or if it will have multiplayer, IO’s history with the Hitman series could provide some hints. The developer is adept at creating stealth games, which seems like a perfect fit for a property like 007.

The news is significant considering that there hasn’t been a James Bond video game since 2012’s 007 Legends. The license for the series was previously held by Activision, but it had its rights revoked in 2013. Activision backed away from publishing licensed games shortly thereafter.

IO didn’t provide any details about a release date or which specific platforms the game will launch on. The studio says that its currently recruiting talent to work on the game, which seems to indicate that its still in very early stages of development. In the meantime, IO’s next project, Hitman 3, is set to release on January 20.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

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"Today we announced a change to our business model which includes new additions to our subscription plans, and the introduction of a Runtime fee. We wanted to provide clarifying answers to the top questions most of you are asking. Yes, this is a price increase and it will only affect a small subset of current Unity Editor users. Today, a large majority of Unity Editor users are currently not paying anything and will not be affected by this change. The Unity Runtime fee will not impact the majority of our developers. The developers who will be impacted are generally those who have successful games and are generating revenue way above the thresholds we outlined in our blog. This means that developers who are still building their business and growing the audience of their games will not pay a fee. The program was designed specifically this way to ensure developers could find success before the install fee takes effect. We want to be clear that the counter for Unity Runtime fee installs starts on January 1, 2024 - it is not retroactive or perpetual. We will charge once for a new install; not an ongoing perpetual license royalty, like revenue share. We looked for ways to lessen the impact on developers, and provide ways to bring the Runtime fee to zero. If you’re using any of our ad products, Unity Gaming Services or cloud services, etc. please contact us to discuss discounts. We are actively listening to and following your questions closely. Please review our FAQ on today’s announcement. We also invite you to continue to discuss these changes with us on our forums."