With Hitman 3 hitting the shelves recently, IO Interactive now turns its attention to Project 007. While that project is still likely quite a way out, it's interesting to start thinking about what IO might do after tackling James Bond. However, something that would fit its sensibilities perfectly is a heist game.
There aren't really a lot of heist games out there. GTA Online notably has heists included, and they've been relatively well-received. Payday made a decent splash, but other than that, there really aren't many heist games, at least not ones that have achieved much popularity. The Hitman developers could definitely be one of the first to enter the genre.
IO Interactive's Attention to Detail
One aspect that makes the best heist movies work so well is their attention to detail. There has to be a huge amount of detail present in the world and in the job at hand to make the heist seem impressive. If the heist were as simple as "break in, steal things," nobody would be impressed that the characters managed to pull it off. But if there are a lot of moving parts, and things to consider, then it feels like the audience is experiencing an actual heist, making it a success.
The Hitman games are a masterclass in detail. Each and every Hitman mission has one million moving parts, and part of the beauty of successfully taking out the target in Hitman is finding out how to use those moving parts as an advantage. Keep those same sensibilities for a heist game, but instead of using those moving parts to eliminate a target, use them to design the perfect heist. Not only do those details add to the immersion of the game, which would be important in making the player feel like they accomplished something, but it makes the world a more satisfying and interesting place to be in.
The Planning Phase
Every heist story has a big plan. A complicated, tuned-to-perfection plan where seemingly every variable is considered and accounted for. Now, everything probably isn't going to go according to plan, but the planning part is still an important part of the genre.
There is a bit of a planning phase in the Hitman games, and players unlock more options for planning a job the more often they complete it. Agent 47 can eventually start the mission in different locations, wearing different disguises, and bringing in different equipment along the way.
While this isn't the same amount of intricacy as would be needed for a heist game, it's a good start for a planning phase. Make players go in and scope out a location before the heist even begins, let them make note of the details – how many cameras, how many guards, what their shifts look like, and anything else in between them and their payday. Throw tons of different obstacles in the players the way depending on the job, and it would add a lot of work into the planning phase, which could make for a really fun aspect of the game, and change how the job goes down drastically.
Multiplayer Modes
This kind of game could be made entirely singleplayer and still shine, but adding multiplayer into the mix could add to the complexity in spades. The Hitman games had some interesting multiplayer modes that, while they might not have been the most popular way to play the game, could be a really fun time.
In a heist game, multiplayer could have a couple of different options. Players could plan and play together, working as a unit to pull off the heist. This could require an almost Rainbow Six Siege level of coordination and teamwork, but that's what would make it so rewarding when it's pulled off correctly.
Multiplayer could go in an entirely different direction as well. Players could compete for the same job, just happening to attempt the same heist at the same time, and depending on how well they've planned and how well they think on their feet, one could make out with the loot before the other does. Either way, this could add some intense moments, and IO has already dabbled in similar ideas before.
A Variety of Options
The Hitman games have an almost frightening number of options when it comes to how the player decides to get the job done, many of which aren't even evident at first glance, forcing players to dig deep to figure out. That's part of the beauty of the Hitman franchise, and it's why many players complete the same job dozens of times; if players come at the job from a different angle, it's going to play out entirely differently and basically feel like new content.
Adding this level of variety to a heist game, especially a heist game with a robust planning phase, would make for a highly replayable experience. It could be an absolute blast to keep doing the same job but pulling it off in different ways, and it would give players the same feeling Hitman does. Instead of players feeling like an accomplished assassin, though, they would feel like a master criminal.
This could even go so far as to add different goals to a particular job. Maybe players are able to grab more loot on a non-violent heist, or on a heist where they weren't even detected, to begin with. A get-in, get-out job where the establishment that's noticeably lighter on funds is none the wiser until the player is already walking off into the sunset. As with most games where this is a possibility, it would likely be the most difficult option, but that's what makes it so much fun.
The same kinds of players that love to go through the Dishonored games with a zero-murder policy would likely find similar interest in this, adding a level of competition between players. There could even be leaderboards, keeping track of who's done the job the fastest, who managed to steal the most value, and so on. There's a lot of potential in a heist game that takes the complexity this far, and IO Interactive seems like the perfect developer to pull it off.