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Square Enix Montreal’s Hitman game has been canceled
Square Enix Montreal opened in 2011 and its first mission was to create a new game in the Hitman series for next-generation consoles. It looks like that mission is a failure as VideoGamer has surmised that the project has been terminated.
According to the LinkedIn profile of Senior Game Designer Richard Knight, the new Hitman game was to be a “re-imagining” of the character, going back to the roots of the first game, echoing what happened with the new Tomb Raider. However, the news does not mean the end for the bald and barcoded Agent 47. Square Enix Montreal is still in business and has shifted its focus to the mobile games market. And one of their mobile projects is an as-yet-untitled Hitman game that will soon be making its way to a smartphone/tablet near you.
As for a next-gen Hitman game, Square Enix has handed the reins back to IO Interactive, the company that created he franchise. The company plans to focus “resolutely on the future vision for the Hitman franchise” and is already “in pre-production on a new AAA Hitman project.” However, it’s unclear whether that title is the same one that Square Enix Monreal scrapped, or if it’s something completely different.
Another Hitman in the works at Square Enix; Eidos Montreal begins another “AAA project”
The city of Montreal has been very, very good to Square Enix. The publisher’s Montreal-based development team, Eidos Montreal, recently shipped the critically acclaimed Deus Ex: Human Revolution. And as they continue work on Thief 4, the team has announced they’re adding 100 jobs and starting development on a new “AAA project.”
But it looks like Montreal is in line for even more Square Enix love as the company has confirmed a second studio based in the city will open its doors next year. This team, known as Square Enix Montreal, will employ 150 people as they seek to create another entry in the Hitman series. This title will be in addition to Hitman: Absolution, which franchise creator IO Interactive has lined up for a 2012 release.
“Montreal is a vibrant center of game creators with industry-leading talent, and one of the most important bases of our global network of game development within the Square Enix Group,” said Yoichi Wada, President and Chief Executive Officer of Square Enix.