According to multiple online resumes, Square Enix Montreal’s first Hitman game for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has been cancelled.
Videogamer discovered the Hitman news via the LinkedIn profile of senior game designer Richard Knight, who noted that the project was canned sometime during 2013. Network engineer Anthony Pressacco collaborated the statement in his own profile, adding that the studio is currently developing an “unannounced Hitman game” for iOS and Android devices.
The now-cancelled title was first revealed back in November 2011 in a press release announcing the opening of Square Enix Montreal. At the time, the publisher revealed that the 150 employee development studio would begin work on “building AAA games for tomorrow’s audiences” in 2012, starting with “a new premium quality game in the award-winning Hitman franchise.”
No further details about Square Enix Montreal’s untitled Hitman game were ever officially announced, but a third LinkedIn profile states that the team was aiming for it to be a “re-imagining” of the series.
While Square Enix Montreal’s Hitman game seems to have met a gruesome end, fans can take comfort in the fact that the series will continue with IO Interactive — who was reported to have downsized and refocused exclusively on the franchise after the release of Hitman: Absolution.
[Update] Square Enix has provided the following statement concerning the future of the Hitman franchise:“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.”
