Eidos Acquire IO Interactive News
Chris Leyton
04/03/2004
Eidos announce acquisition of the creators of Hitman and Freedom Fighters…
Eidos today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire IO Interactive; the Danish based developer behind the popular âHitmanâ franchise and âFreedom Fightersâ.
The acquisition seals the future rights of the Hitman franchise, at a time when game franchises are swapping between publishers like Pokemon cards in a playground; in addition the deal will facilitate the use of IOâs cutting edge technology across the group.
Mike McGarvey, CEO of Eidos, says:
âWe welcome the IO team of outstanding, technically creative developers, who we know share our vision and values. The relationship and experience we have already shared over the past five years gives us great confidence in their ability not only to maintain the outstanding success of Hitman, but also to develop new titles of unique IP. In addition, their market leading technology will be a key element in the Groupâs transition to next generation platforms.â
Janos Flösser, Managing Director of IO Interactive, says:
âEidos is an ideal partner for IO with an inspired and successful management team who share a similar production and development ethos to our own. We are delighted to take our existing relationship to the next stage. We will look to continue producing successful franchises, such as Hitman, and help to define a winning technology platform which has the potential to be more widely used across the Eidos studios.â