IO Interactive to double its staff to develop James Bond game

IO Interactive revealed new details about their upcoming James Bond game, which could turn into a new trilogy. The studio is now looking to hire 200 more employees.

The studio head Hakan Abrak discussed Project 007 in an interview with Danish site DR. The new game won’t be based on any film of the James Bond franchise. He confirmed that IO is creating its own original universe.

“We have been allowed to make our own digital Bond, which will not lean on a Bond actor. We are also making a completely original story, and you could easily imagine that a trilogy could come out of it,” Abrak said.

To meet its ambitions, IO Interactive plans to open a new studio in Sweden and double its staff to 400 employees in the next few years.

Hakan also revealed that the studio had been trying to get the Bond license for almost two years until they presented the pitch to Barbara Broccoli. She runs EON Productions that makes and produces James Bond movies.

At first, Broccoli was skeptical about the idea of making a new 007 game because she thought the previous titles were too violent. However, she was satisfied with IO’s vision eventually. “Our story, our background with the Hitman universe, and our vision of what Bond is in a game format went right into the heart of Barbara Broccoli herself,” Arbak said.

Project 007 will be IO Interactive’s first new IP since finishing the latest trilogy of Hitman. While there’s no release date or information about the game’s genre, the developers already call the project a “boy’s dream.”