Hitman developer IO Interactive teases Project 007

IO Interactive has teased its next project, and it's a James Bond game.

Project 007 is a collaboration between the studio behind the acclaimed Hitman series, film producers MGM and EON Productions, and licensing specialist Delphi.

It is in development across two IO studios, including Copenhagen and Malmö.

A very short teaser debuted online today, with a statement released shortly afterwards, revealing this upcoming title will be "the very first James Bond origin story."

This does not mean it will be an adaptation of Casino Royale -- either the Ian Fleming novel or the 2006 Daniel Craig film -- nor the Anthony Horowitz-penned prequel novel Forever and a Day.

Instead, this will be a "wholly original Bond story [developed] exclusively as a video game."

Project 007 will be powered by IO Interactive's proprietary Glacier technology, which powers the Hitman series.

It will be released for "modern systems and platforms," although there's no indication of which ones or when a release date might be given.

"It's true that once in a while, the stars do align in our industry," said IO CEO Hakan Abrak. "Creating an original Bond game is a monumental undertaking and I truly believe that IO Interactive, working closely with our creative partners at EON and MGM, can deliver something extremely special for our players and communities.

"Our passionate team is excited to unleash their creativity into the iconic James Bond universe and craft the most ambitious game in the history of our studio."

It's been five years since the most recent Bond game -- Glu's free-to-play mobile title 007: World of Espionage -- and eight since 007 Legends for consoles and PC, published in 2012 by Activision to coincide with Skyfall's launch at cinemas.

The next Bond film, No Time To Die, was due to arrive in cinemas last week but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

GamesIndustry.biz took the opportunity to explore why no Bond games have been made for most of the past decade.