IO Interactive has been very busy these past couple of months. They just released the much anticipated Hitman III, which has gone onto be critically acclaimed, despite a bit of a hiccup on the title’s launch day with their carry over progress site. Before they did any of this, the company revealed a major surprise back in November; they’re developing on a brand new James Bond game with the working title of Project 007. Some new information has come about in regards to this venture as IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak was interviewed by a Swedish publication, which was also reported by The Gamer, where he states that the project might become a trilogy, and to that extent is looking to expand the company as a whole.

A few new details on IO Interactive’s Bond game

– this will be an all new digital Bond that is not inspired by a Bond actor
– original story that could be turned into a trilogy
– IO has 200 employees right now and expects that number to grow to over 400https://t.co/j1HLZ1RYpS pic.twitter.com/Y2BMQZzqS6

— Nibel (@Nibellion) January 26, 2021

According to Abrak, the studio isn’t going to use any of the established Bonds from the film series, or from any of the previous entries in the James Bond video game franchise. This of course includes the classic Goldeneye 007, which is often referred to as one of the most important video games of all time as it essentially established the first-person shooter genre on home consoles. This gives IO Interactive some serious creative freedom and opens the doors for any type of story with whichever type of Bond they go with.

As for the aforementioned trilogy, this is merely something that Abrak states is a possibility due to the creative team’s ideas potentially going wild with their new IP. “We have been allowed to make our own digital Bond, which will not lean on a Bond actor. We’re also coming up with a completely original story, and you could easily imagine that a trilogy would come out of it.” Since they just concluded the Hitman trilogy, it makes sense for the studio to try and have another set of three titles tied to a huge IP under their belt.

Speaking of which, IO Interactive is looking to expand their company as Abrak mentions that they’re expecting to have “over 400 employees over the next few years.” They already opened a brand new studio in 2019, which is located in Malmö, Sweden. Still, we wouldn’t be surprised if they took the extra step and opened another one just to accommodate the influx of developers needed for Project 007. It’s more than likely that we’re still at least a couple of years away from actually seeing a full release, but it’s great to see that IO Interactive is already taking major steps to prepare for this gigantic project.