Remember the launch of Square Enix Montreal, which was to be developing two new Hitman games? The next gen version has been cancelled according to senior designer Richard Knight’s LinkedIn profile. Knight is listed as “Senior Designer – Hitman Project (Next-Gen Consoles/Current Gen/PC) – Cancelled.” His current role involves, “Prototyping games in short dev cycles for Tablet devices.”
That’s not all. Network engineer Anthony Pressacco has apparently stated that Square Enix Montreal is now working on a mobile “unannounced Hitman game”, which could indicate Knight’s current project. Could this be Hitman: Gun & Souls, whose trademark was filed in Japan? It seems the next gen project was to feature micro-transactions and online leaderboards though.
Those who had concerns about Hitman having a yearly sequel cycle similar to Call of Duty can rest easy now then. Could the lackluster success of Hitman: Absolution have anything to do with this decision or are there other reasons? Stay tuned for more updates.