Earlier this month we heard the sad news of Square Enix and IO Interactive parting ways, as the Japanese publisher plans to focus more energy on key franchises and studios.
After some radio silence from both ends, today IO Interactive took to Twitter to update fans on their plans. Stating in the Twitter post “We’re sad that great talent and good friends will be leaving the studio.”
Read the full update down below:
An update from the studio: pic.twitter.com/k0aoms5cOQ
— IO Interactive (@IOInteractive) May 23, 2017
Square Enix has not made it extremely clear why they cut IO Interactive, but they did state the following:
“To maximize player satisfaction as well as market potential going forward, we are focusing our resources and energies on key franchises and studios. As a result, the Company has regrettably decided to withdraw from the business of Io Interactive, a wholly‐owned subsidiary and a Danish corporation, as of March 31, 2017.”
Seeing layoffs and developers getting cut is never a good time especially when they create such great content. In fact, ever since the launch of Hitman season one, many gamers were starting to get more into the franchise. It will be sad to see some of those devs leave IO, but we hope they find a new place to work on games soon.
How do you feel about the separation of Square Enix and IO Interactive? What do you hope IO end doing next? Let us know in the comments below!
