IO Interactive is keeping itself quite busy as of late. The Danish developer has been behind some of the bigger stories over the past few months, including the announcement of a brand new Project 007 video game. This latest piece of news would fall into the rumor category, as there are whispers that IO Interactive is teaming up with Xbox to create a new fantasy IP.
Between acquisitions and deals with development partners, Xbox has been ramping up its development and publishing of exclusive content recently. According to this new rumor, it may be publishing a brand new dragon-filled fantasy IP with IO Interactive as the developer under the Xbox Games Studios banner.
The rumors about this new IO Interactive project were initially reported by Windows Central and Eurogamer, but video game insider @Nibellion (who has forecasted things like the new PSVR before it was revealed) has done their part in spreading the news. According to the report, this IO Interactive and Xbox title is a large medieval-themed AAA title that is very early in development.
The details of the rumored game come from a combination of an inside source and a job listing on IO Interactive's website. A job with the title "Senior UX Designer" has lingo in it explaining that the individual hired would be working on an unannounced AAA project that would very much be a "continuous journey." That idea sounds like it could be a games as a service-style game like Destiny. But the other word that sticks out like a sore thumb in the description is the word "dragon," which apparently is the department that the new hire would work in.
Recently IO Interactive opened a new studio in Barcelona, so it could be that a move like that was done in part for the development of this new IP. The job listings thus far that link to the fantasy dragon game point to IO Interactive's studios in Sweden and Denmark. But especially in today's remote world, it is entirely possible for someone in Spain to assist with the project.
IO Interactive has said that Hitman is on hiatus while the team works on the new Project 007 game. But with the team being so large and even opening a new studio, this is a bit surprising; especially given how successful the games have been. However, if the studio has struck a deal with Xbox and a big exclusive is on the way, (and this all should be taken with a grain of salt until confirmed) then it makes a lot more sense.