007 First Light developer IO Interactive has revealed during its annual report that its upcoming fantasy RPG is in development with an ‘external publisher and financier.’
The exact quote is as follows:
Operating as a multi-project studio across several countries introduces both new opportunities and challenges. While Hitman continues to generate activity and revenue through ongoing live services and community engagement, our primary development focus is on the James Bond and fantasy projects. The latter is being developed in partnership with an external publisher and financier. Both projects naturally carry higher financial and creative risk.
Hakan Abrak, CEO of IO Interactive, told The Game Business last month that Project Fantasy is “in a very health place,” but wouldn’t reveal the identity of the partner that the studio is working with. Project Fantasy was announced in February 2023 and takes the form of an online RPG that has been designed from the ground up to be expanded on for long term appeal.
Details from Microsoft’s court battle with the FTC over the then-planned acquisition of Activision indicated that the project would be an Xbox exclusive release, but nothing official has been confirmed yet.
[Source – IO Interactive via MauroNL on X]