It recently became known that Microsoft was indeed a financial partner of IO Interactive in the development of the RPG Project Fantasy, as previously assumed. However, after a large-scale Xbox restructuring, the cooperation ceased: the studio regained full control over the intellectual property and decided to independently finance the production.
This decision forced IO Interactive management to reconsider plans in other areas. In an official statement, the studio explained that the transition to self-financing a large RPG required a strict redistribution of resources. As a result, funding had to be cut in other areas, including "external initiatives and potential mobile spin-offs" (derivatives).
IO Interactive did not specify which mobile projects were affected by the cuts or whether they were already in active development. However, mobile versions of Hitman games have already been released on smartphones: Hitman World of Assassination is available on iOS, and Feral Interactive previously released ports of Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution for iOS and Android. Judging by IO Interactive's wording, this refers to the cancellation of new spin-offs and experimental projects based on the studio's franchises.