14 DAY TRIAL // Karsten Lund, the game director working at Square Enix Montreal, says that the studio he is leading has freedom when it comes to the new Hitman game and that the first installment in the franchise created outside of Denmark will offer fans some surprises.
Writing on Gamasutra, the developer says, “Every time we mention we’re working on the Hitman franchise, we see a smile on our peers’ lips. The Hitman games best represent some of the things that gaming is all about: living, immersive worlds for you to play in, and the freedom to do things your way.”
Lund believes that the most important element of the Hitman series has been the ability for players to create their own stories by simply finding new ways of tackling the many challenges that the series offer.
He added “I know how hard that is to create; I was at Io for the last 11 years. Our challenge is obviously to retain that DNA, while establishing ownership in our team and of our game.”
The studio leader also believes that it is time for the developers to examine some of the core elements of the series, which Lund calls “holy cows”, and see how they might be modified in order to better suit the modern gamer.
The Hitman project that Square Enix Montreal is working on is different from the Absolution game that IO Interactive is getting ready to ship at the moment and might not even star Agent 47 as the main character.
The entire studio was established during 2011 and is getting some help from the team at Eidos Montreal that has already delivered Deus Ex: Human Revolution to great reviews and is currently working on a new Thief game.
Hitman: Absolution will be launched on November 20 on the PC, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.