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Podcast: IO's independence, with Hakan Abrak | GI Live Online

Hitman studio's CEO on the journey to self-publishing and achieving the vision for the World of Assassination trilogy

For the next few weeks, we'll be delivering audio versions of some of the best sessions from our recent GI Live: Online event.

This week, our head of games B2B Chris Dring speaks to IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak about the rollercoaster journey the Hitman studio has been on for the past few years.

The conversation covers everything from IO's split with former publisher and parent Square Enix, through the risky period of supporting Hitman 2016 alone, charting the rise of the World of Assassination trilogy with Hitman 2, and culminating in full independence and self-publishing for this year's Hitman 3. 

You can also watch the full session on our YouTube channel, and read the highlights in our feature here.

You can listen to our latest episode in the player above, subscribe to our directly here. It is also available via Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Overcast, Player FM, TuneIn and other widely-used podcast platforms.

Our previous GI Live episode with Velan Studios' Guha Bala can be found here.

Don't forget to check out the latest episodes of The Game Developers' Playlist and The Five Games Of, all episodes of which are on the same podcast feed.

Our latest regular news show can be found here.