Hitman 3 studio’s 007 James Bond game set for 2025 at the earliest

Hitman 3 developer IO Interactive and the James Bond license are a match made in heaven. Agent 47’s stealthy infiltrations, deceptive interactions, and adept gunfights are exactly what 007 should do in a video game too. Sadly, it seems we’ll have to wait a while to see Bond in action.

As spotted by games reporter @DarkDetectiveNL on Twitter, IO Interactive made a particularly interesting statement in its 2021/2022 annual report, wrapping up the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. “There is a risk the next number of calendar years [that] profits will drop,” the report reads. “This is due to long production phases ahead, before the next releases hit the market. More precisely, fiscal [years 2024] and [2025] estimates show a significant decrease.” In other words, IOI expects to make less money until the release of its next game, and that won’t be until the fiscal year 2025 ends. As it currently stands, IOI’s FY 2025 closes out on March 31, 2025, so we shouldn’t expect to see the 007 game release before then.

IO Interactive has published its Annual Report 2021/22 (year ending 31st March 2022).

Revenue came in at DKK 538m (~$72.4m), +7% YoY, more than 2x management expectations. Mostly thanks to a Xbox Game Pass deal.

Looking into mobile dev.

Project 007 scheduled after March 2025? pic.twitter.com/JlnZ5J4kyJ

— DarkDetective (@DarkDetectiveNL) August 31, 2022

There is positive news in IOI’s report though. Hitman 3 has been performing extremely well — “300% better” sales than Hitman 2, according to the studio’s CEO. As such, IOI “is considering opening more subsidiary studios in new countries to accommodate for [its] needs for growth,” according to the report. That’s a good problem to have.

As for the future 007 game, we obviously know very little about what IOI is planning. At a minimum, it’ll star its own version of James Bond an original story, with the possibility of a trilogy like the modern Hitman series has seen. 007 film franchise producer Barbara Broccoli is apparently quite pleased with IOI being at the helm due to its success with Hitman.

Along those same lines, Hitman 3 continues to see monthly roadmaps of new content. August 2022 brought the Floral Baller pistol, returning Elusive Targets, and more. September 2022’s new stuff has been teased with a gif of a glow-in-the-dark suit.