After gaining independence from Square Enix in 2017, IO Interactive, the creator of Hitman, navigated through the industry’s budget inflation to become a leading self-publishing studio. In a recent interview with The Game Business, CEO Hakan Abrak revealed that the company’s successful budget management stemmed from its commitment to eliminating unnecessary expenditures.

“I swore never to do more new toilets,” said Abrak. “Like, we were just doing new everything. And it was just a throwaway.”
Translation: “I promised myself that we wouldn’t create unnecessary content anymore; we were doing too much for the sake of it, wasting resources.”

Abrak explained that after the release of Hitman: Absolution in 2012, the team decided it needed a more sustainable approach to game development. It adopted a strategy focusing on reusable content, what they call the ‘brick system’, allowing for efficient creation and expansion of game assets.

Notably, he indicated that the budget for Hitman 3 has decreased significantly compared to its predecessor, illustrating this with the figures:

• Hitman (2016): ~$100 million
• Hitman 2: ~$60 million
• Hitman 3: ~$20 million

Despite the reduced budget, Abrak noted that Hitman 3 achieved a high reception, boasting impressive Metacritic scores.

As IO Interactive looks forward to releasing 007: First Light, Abrak hinted it would require a larger investment but with similar principles focused on longevity and resource management.