Recently it was reported that Square Enix has made the decision to sell off Danish dev studio IO Interactive.  The decision stems from the Japanese publisher’s decision to focus on ‘key franchises and studios,’ which apparently does not include IO Interactive or the Hitman series.  Since the news hit, it has been assumed that the Hitman franchise’s future was in peril – if Square Enix did not simply shelf the series, the publisher was most likely going to sell the intellectual property off for a profit, to help negate the $42 million loss that resulted in offloading IO Interactive.  Now, according to German publication GameStar (translated), “reliably circles” have confirmed that the franchise’s license will stay with IO Interactive, rather than with Square Enix.

“We can not reveal any further details on the origin of this information, but we would like to state that the information is absolutely reliable and secure.”

Not only does the German publication claim that the franchise is staying with IO Interactive, it also states that season two of Hitman is “definitely” coming.  The second season of the game is allegedly “halfway to completion,” with the series “probably” taking a break for 2018.  The publication concludes by suggesting that IO Interactive will officially comment on the recent turn of events with Square Enix, and possibly a word about the future of Hitman.

Thanks for tweeting us. There's a lot going on right now and we'll have more to say at a later point. For now, back to making games.

— IO Interactive (@IOInteractive) May 11, 2017

Though the information above is still a rumor at this time, if it is revealed to be true, this would be phenomenal news for both the fans of the Hitman series and the staff over at IO Interactive.  With Square Enix keeping the Hitman property in IO Interactive’s hands, a future for both the series and the Danish dev studio is just a bit more certain.  We can expect to hear word from IO Interactive once the company comes back from their long weekend, due to a public holiday in Denmark.

So, thoughts on the rumor?  Would you have preferred that the Hitman franchise stay with Square Enix?  Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to DFTG for all the latest gaming and entertainment news!  Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!