IO Interactive

IO Interactive A/S (IOI) is a Danish video game developer based in Copenhagen, best known for creating and developing the Hitman and Kane and Lynch franchises. IO Interactive's most recent game is Hitman 3, which was released in January 2021. The company was founded in September 1998 as a joint venture between the seven-man development team of Reto-Moto and the film studio Nordisk Film. IO Interactive was acquired by publisher Eidos Interactive for £23 million in March 2004, which saw itself acquired by Square Enix and renamed Square Enix Europe in 2009. In May 2017, Square Enix ceased funding for IO Interactive and started seeking a buyer for the studio. IO Interactive performed a management buyout in June 2017, becoming independent and regaining the rights to their Hitman and Freedom Fighters franchises. IO Interactive employs 200 people as of January 2021 and operates two subsidiary studios: IOI Malmö in Malmö, Sweden; and IOI Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain.