Hitman retires from duty as Project 007 gives James Bond next mission

Hitman's Agent 47 is taking a break as IO Interactive finally allow the new James Bond game — Project 007 — to take centre stage.

Finished all those Hitman 3 trophies, and every other trophy in The World of Assassination? Well, you might have just finished all of Agent 47's missions for the next few years. Project 007, the new James Bond game, is the sole active development mission for IO Interactive now. We have high hopes for this potential best PS5 games contender!

Project 007 finally lets James Bond take the mantle from Hitman

A new James Bond game semi-retires Hitman series

Ever since the Project 007 announcement, our hopes for the first good James Bond game since those heady days collecting Blood Stone trophies have been high. In a new Eurogamer interview with Christian Elverdam — the CCO and co-owner of IO Interactive — the new James Bond game has never felt closer as it has taken precedence over The World of Assassination series, otherwise known as Hitman.

"Right now a major, major new Hitman game: that's a little bit on hiatus," Elverdam stated. "We're building another agent fantasy that's also taking up a lot of our time. But obviously, we'll come back to beloved Agent 47. He's still very much in the heart of this company." The other 'agent fantasy' is, of course, Project 007 — the new James Bond game.

As of yet, all we have had to go on in this new game is a teaser trailer and a short description that clarifies this will be an original James Bond story and will cover the origins of the MI6 agent 007. It's been really rough times for the perfectly formed ass of James Bond, as he has had to deal with one average PS3 shooter in Goldeneye Reloaded and a truly awful one in 007 Legends. Prior to that, we have really fond memories of 007 Blood Stone with its own delectable original story — it's pretty understated, we think — and the Quantum of Solace tie-in that actually had a great multiplayer mode.

James Bond will return at an unknown date for unknown systems but be assured the PS5 or PS6 will probably get it. Looking for more Bond? Check out the fate of Goldeneye 007 on PS4, which retraces some of the histories of the series on PlayStation. Now, get in the comment and RIP Hitman for a few years.

Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about exclusives like The Last of Us and Horizon, PS Plus news, and his favourite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and God of War — before an evening swim.