IO Interactive's New RPG Seemingly Confirmed As Xbox Exclusive

The Microsoft FTC Inquiry is raging on, and it's bringing out a lot of secrets that Microsoft would likely prefer that we didn't know. We've seen internal memos that are discussing upcoming game releases, discussions of potential acquisitions, and discussions of plans to beat Sony in the market, and now we've seen that the upcoming new IP from IO Interactive could be exclusive to the Xbox family of consoles.

Documents spotted by IGN list the studio as working on a title called 'Project Dragon', which is reportedly an RPG shooter for PC and Xbox Series X/S. The publisher is listed as Xbox Game Studios, which could indicate that the game is planned as either a console exclusive or a timed console exclusive.

The new project was first announced in February by IO themselves, who stated in a blog post:

"Now we are sharing with all of you, that we are embarking on a new adventure! One that expands our creativity, our capabilities, and in some sense our identity. We are building a new world, a new IP- an online fantasy RPG. A world and a game built from the core to entertain players and expand for many years to come. It feels familiar yet at the same time IOI is going on a journey unlike any we have been on before."

IO Interactive is incredibly familiar to gamers thanks to their work on the Hitman series of games. They were part of Square Enix until 2017 when IO Interactive bought out the company and became an independently operating studio. In addition to working on the aforementioned new fantasy RPG, they're also working on a brand new James Bond game, tentatively codenamed Project 007.