According to a new financial report from IO Interactive, work on the next James Bond title may not be ready for at least another two years. Known as Project 007, the game has been in the works at IO Interactive for some time now, with the studio currently actively recruiting members for the game’s development team. However, it seems as though eager fans could be waiting until at least March 2025 to see the game actually be released.
The studio’s latest financial results, as spotted by Twitter user DarkDetective, paint a bit of a grim picture as far as its output over the next couple of years is concerned. With the relative success of Hitman 3 under its belt, IO Interactive has reported what it describes as “a couple of years with solid revenue and profits, due to the launch of a title.” However, going forward it seems that the Danish developers aren’t quite as hopeful for similar results.
The report cites the potential risk to profits based on projected lengthy production phases for the creation of new games, specifically “before the next releases hit the market.” IO Interactive is predicting a drop in revenue as a result of them not actually releasing any games in this two-year window, which they specifically single out as being the 2024 and 2025 financial years.
It makes sense, given the long development cycle associated with the majority of game development projects these days. If we consider that the team is currently still in the active recruitment stage for Project 007, then it stands to reason that the gaming community won’t see a completed product for at least a couple of years.
The brand new James Bond game was first revealed as being in the pipeline at IO Interactive back in November 2020, although it’s been pretty silent on its progress since then. With the stealthy success of Hitman 3, it’s arguable that IO Interactive is the ideal team to do James Bond justice. You can watch the developer’s teaser trailer for Project 007 right here to remind yourself of the potential for the Hitman team to revive the iconic MI5 spy in a new adventure.
However, IO Interactive also states in its new report that the studio is looking to move into the mobile games development space. this is a move that echoes a lot of other developers and studios, many of whom appear to be putting a solid focus on their efforts in the mobile gaming space. Whether or not this focus will shift IO Interactive’s gaze at all from Project 007 remains to be seen. Hopefully, though, the company will be laser-focused on completing the new James Bond game on schedule to the best of its abilities, given the troubling forecast for its profits over the next couple of years.