At the Nordic Game 2018 convention, IO Interactive CEO Haran Abrak has announced that 13 million players has given Hitman (2016) a go. In comparison, Hitman had 7 million players by November 2017.
However, Abrak, who also co-owns the studio, also made it known that the sales were low, lower than Hitman Absolution- the game fans did not particularly like structure-wise but did well commercially.
“We were at the peak of our game, extremely agile, on top of the digital platforms, and we had a great game, the best Hitman game in 20 years,” said Abrak. “But we hadn’t achieved the commercial aspect. We were quite far from where we needed to be.”
Hitman’s episodic release, which changed schedules for quite a while, might have hampered sales as players wait until the game to be fully completed.
But having 13 million players giving Hitman a shot in one form or another- there was a demo available and limited-time free map giveaways on PC- proves that the IP still has potential.
IO Interactive parted ways with Square Enix last year, which resulted in the developers turning independent and keeping all their IPs, including cult-favourite shooter Freedom Fighters. Hitman is now re-released- both in digital and physical form of Hitman Definitive Edition under publishers Warner Bros.
Via Destructoid