Io Interactive is definitely working on a new Hitman, but we won't have any information on it until 2018

Good news - the newly independent Io Interactive is definitely working on a new Hitman game.

On the launch day of the Hitman Game of the Year Edition, which comes complete with some DLC that current owners can buy separately, Io Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak has written a short letter to fans on the company's website.

It's been an extremely hard year for Io Interactive; Hitman was wonderful and sold well, but there's no justice in this world. Seeing the studio gearing up to continue on with the franchise is heartwarming.

In the post, Abrak says that Hitman has had 7 million players since its launch. Since the game was originally released episodically (and the opening section is now free to pick up) this doesn't necessarily mean that the entire season has sold seven million copies, but it's still a fine number.

"I also want to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you, in advance, to everyone who supports us by purchasing the GOTY Edition or the Upgrade", Abrak goes on to say. "Your support will directly help us to continue on our independent journey towards the next Hitman game and beyond."

Speaking of that next game, something is, it seems, definitely in the works. "I want to let you know that we’re making great progress and we have exciting new features and some franchise firsts, which we can’t wait to tell you all about. You’ll have to wait a little longer as we don’t plan to start talking about that until some point in 2018."

Not long ago, we were worried that Hitman was gone forever, so this is definitely good news. If you haven't played the game yet, the Game of the Year Edition is now available to purchase.