IO Interactive recently announced it is working on a new fantasy IP, which seems to be a major departure for the famed Hitman developer. Over the years, fans have become familiar with its particular brand of third-person gameplay that encourages creative problem-solving. That formula has been a powerful hook for IO's assassin-focused titles, but even though little is known about its next project, fans of IO Interactive might be surprised by the direction the team is taking.
Working under the codename "Project Fantasy," IO Interactive is moving away from the stealth genre to deliver an experience that trends more toward swords and sorcery. Coupled with the fact that Project Fantasy will be an online title, the announcement of IO Interactive's fantasy RPG is surprising, but this could be the studio's logical evolution in utilizing social gameplay now inspired by tabletop adventures.
Project Fantasy and IO Interactive's Future Ambitions
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5){kind=tracking}
Last year, an annual financial report indicated IO Interactive's next games were still years away, so it will be some time before Project Fantasy fully materializes. So far, the company has divulged some of its high-level goals in pursuing this original IP. Its press release following the project's announcement discussed how the team has long appreciated gamebooks and role-playing campaigns that blend storytelling, imagination, and player choice.
Choice is a recurring theme in IO Interactive's prior titles, even when the gameplay tackles darker, action-oriented tones. Pioneering a style of shooter that's more interested in precision than raw destruction, the Hitman franchise gave players a combination of tactical options, tools, and disguises for assassinating targets in many different scenarios. One of the biggest questions is how those kinds of choices can translate into what seems to be a persistent, online fantasy universe. Project Fantasy is representing a new genre for the studio, one that is harder to imagine when compared to a game with a bloodthirsty hero like Agent 47.
How Project Fantasy Might Compare to Other IO Interactive Games
Going from Agent 47 to animated wizards is quite the divergence, yet it could be a creatively healthy move for a studio that isn't afraid to challenge itself. IO's initial concept art shows a high-fantasy environment with party members gathering together beneath a blazing star - including what appears to be a dwarven warrior, elven adventurer, and a scholarly mage. Those character definitions may evolve over the course of development given much of the setting remains a secret. Still, Project Fantasy looks to have a colorful presentation in its early stages, and it will likely contrast the style of IO Interactive's Project 007 as well.
Project Fantasy is both unexpected and intriguing. It has been defined as an online RPG, but the exact scale of the project is unknown at this time. IO Interactive might support this as a smaller live-service title, or it could target an experience that's more comparable to MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. Either way, the aforementioned tabletop influences show the team's passion for cooperative settings and player-driven adventures in faraway realms, giving Project Fantasy the potential to integrate sandbox elements from IO Interactive's Hitman series in an entirely new context - possibly including multiplayer heroics that extend across a living world.