IO reckons its Bond game could be start of a trilogy

Studio director Abrak says that the game boasts a completely original story.

Hitman developer IO Interactive has said that its upcoming James Bond title Project 007 could easily be the first part of a trilogy.

Speaking to Danish media outlet DR.dk, studio director Hakan Abrak said that the developer has come up with a "completely original story" for the game and that he "could easily imagine that a trilogy could come out of it." Furthermore, the title will boast its own James Bond rather than the digital likeness of any of the actors who have played the British spy.

Abrak also revealed how IO managed to convince the folks in charge of the Bond IP – Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael G Wilson - to let it make a game based on the franchise. The Hitman maker spent the better part of two years preparing for a meeting with these keyholders, knowing full well that Broccoli wasn't happy with previous Bond video games, saying that they weren't "worthy enough" of the IP and were "violence for the sake of violence."

What this comment means exactly isn't clear, but it's likely a reference to how previous video games based on the Bond series mostly ended up being shooters where the player mowed down an endless sea of enemies. IO's depiction of violence in the Hitman franchise, by contrast, is much more subtle and elegant, which no doubt helped the Danish studio land the license.

Project 007 was announced in November 2020. Developer IO recently released the last entry in its Hitman trilogy – Hitman 3 – a title that we said was "a fitting finale to one of gaming's best trilogies" in our review.