Agent 47 may have enjoyed a lengthy vacation between the releases of Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution, but mercifully for fans of the series it looks like they may not have to wait another six years for the next assignment. Despite the rather dispiriting news earlier this week that Square Enix had cancelled its development of a Hitman game for the new console generation, another update has clarified some of the details.

The game, which has been unofficially dubbed Hitman 6 for the time being, was in development at Square Enix's recently established studio in Montreal. Hitman: Absolution director Tomas Blystad mentioned that several developers from IO Interactive were working on the game, but that it would be the most part be a fresh take on the franchise that was different to what had gone before.

Whether the work done at Square Enix will carry over to IO Interactive or not is currently unclear, but in a statement made to IGN, Square Enix has laid out just where the current duties regarding the Hitman franchise lie. The good news is that a sixth Hitman game is definitely on the way for PC and the latest consoles, and there may be mobile titles as well.

"IO Interactive is developing a new, AAA Hitman game that will be coming to PC and next-gen consoles and Square Enix Montreal is fully focused on mobile development of games some of which are related to the Hitman franchise. We look forward to sharing more details about these titles later this year."

That seems like a strong hint that we could see a teaser or even a full trailer for a new Hitman game at E3 this year (though maybe leave the killer stripper nuns out next time). IO Interactive's franchise has so far turned out some of the most fun and well-designed stealth assassination games on the market, and it will be great to see Agent 47's big bald barcode head in more graphical detail than ever before.

It is a bit of a pity that Square Enix Montreal's take on the series won't see the light of day after all, but at least there's still the mobile tie-in game(s) to look forward to. Angry Man? Cranium Crush? Kill Something? The possibilities are endless.

We'll keep you updated on Hitman 6 as development continues.

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Source: IGN