20 Years of IOI
This year marks a milestone anniversary for us and it’s one that we want to celebrate: IOI is 20 years old!
We’ve been making games for two decades and have released 11 games from four different franchises. It feels incredible to say that and look back at everything that we’ve achieved along the way.
In 2000, we introduced Agent 47 to the world with Codename 47 and established his legacy as a Silent Assassin two years later. Then, we released Freedom Fighters in 2003 and gave our take on an alternative history in New York before returning to 47 with the atmospheric Hitman Contracts and then Blood Money in 2006.
In the following three years, we introduced another two franchises. First, Kane & Lynch. The world’s most notorious criminals blasted their way through two titles – with the release of Mini Ninjas firmly placed between them. After a 6-year break, Agent 47 returned in Hitman: Sniper Challenge and Absolution, on new technology and with a very personal story. Now, we’re still supporting HITMAN (2016, All Caps) with monthly content and love more than two years after its initial launch.
That’s the entire release history of our games in two paragraphs. We want to give each game a lot more love throughout the rest of the year – and we’ll be doing that with artwork, livestreams, interviews and much more. Look for announcements on Twitter and Facebook.
Today, we’re hard at work. We’ve got plenty cooking and the pots are still boiling. Please don’t read too much into the analogy. We just thought of it and we’re sticking with it. We think you know what we’re saying.
We want to use this blog post to share some other great news with you!
HITMAN now has more than 12 million players!
That’s in bold because we’re so proud to say it! We’re humbled and excited to see so many players enjoying the game!
Here’s another incredible milestone: Last week, we set a new all-time record for the most active users in a single day. We had to spin up our server capacity to meet demand.
Back in 2015 when we announced HITMAN, we talked about building an expanding and evolving world of assassination. These numbers prove to us that we’re pulling that off and we’re inspired to continue creating content that our players will want to play and experience. Obviously, that number was helped by our Spring Pack, which was available for a limited time. This download allowed anyone to play Sapienza, the beautiful Italian coastaltown and one of the most highly-praised locations from HITMAN.
It’s great to see so many people playing our game, liking it and wanting more of it, which is great support for us. As an independent studio, that is very important. Whenever
youstarted playing the game, we appreciate all the support. Thank you.
Looking *slightly* to the future
As part of our anniversary celebrations, we’re excited to announce that
HITMAN: Definitive Edition will be released on May 15th for Xbox One and PS4!
Coming exclusively to store shelves, HITMAN: Definitive Edition includes all episodes and locations from Season One plus all of the Game of the Year Edition content, including the Patient Zero campaign! We’ve partnered with Warner Bros. to release the Definitive Edition. They’ll be publishing and distributing this version of the game to store shelves all over the world.
We’re tying our studio anniversary and the upcoming Definitive Edition release with a new outfit bundle that celebrates our history. Introducing… The Anniversary Outfit Bundle!
These new outfits are inspired by the games that we’ve made here at IOI; Freedom Fighters, Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas!
The
Freedom Phantom Suit is inspired by Christopher Stone from Freedom Fighters.
Get ready to take command and fight for freedom in a suit that is equal parts charismatic and rebellious.
The
Lynch Suit is inspired by everybody’s favourite criminal; Lynch.
It’s the perfect suit for an impulsive, reckless and self-medicated psychopath.
The
Futo Suit is inspired by Futo from Mini Ninjas.
As you know, Ninjas always operate alone but they don’t always fight using a hammer. Futo does.
The Anniversary Outfit bundle will be made available for purchase on digital platforms later this year.
Here’s the full list of what’s included in HITMAN: Definitive Edition
- Anniversary Outfit Bundle – Three new outfits inspired by IOI games; Freedom Fighters, Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas
- HITMAN Season One – Seven exotic locations from the first season, including Paris, Sapienza, Marrakesh, Bangkok, Colorado and Hokkaido, along with the ICA Facility
- HITMAN Game of the Year Edition Content – Four missions from the Patient Zero Campaign, three themed Escalation Contracts that unlock three unique weapons, as well as the Clown Suit, Cowboy Suit and Raven Suit
- HITMAN Bonus Episode – Featuring 3 Bonus Missions in Sapienza and Marrakesh
- HITMAN: Blood Money Requiem Pack – Including the Requiem Suit, Pale Duck Explosive and ICA Chrome Pistol
- All Featured Contracts, Escalation Contracts, Challenge Packs and game updates from HITMAN Season One and HITMAN Game of the Year Edition
BOOM! There you have it; the announcement of HITMAN: Definitive Edition, the start of our 20th anniversary celebrations and more people than ever are playing HITMAN! We told you 2018 would be good. More to come.
