
The failure of Hitman: Absolution meant that when Square Enix chose to divest Project 007 studio IO Interactive, some offers were as low as a single dollar.
In an interview with Edge magazine, Hakan Abrak, CEO and co-owner, speaks about the difficulties that IO had faced in the years before it began work on Hitman (2016) and eventually went independent: "[Hitman] Absolution was a tough, tough production. The game took seven years. It was completely over budget."