After a week of through, stealth, and stabbings, "Hitman 3" has broken even and is profitable for developer IO Interactive.

Released a week ago today, "Hitman 3" is a fitting conclusion to IO's assassination trilogy, and Andy Kelly, in his review of "Hitman 3," called it IO's "most creative and surprising assassination sim to date." Many others must have agreed, and the developer has now announced that it has fully recouped its development costs with the closing of Agent 47. Hakan Abrak, CEO of [IO, told GamesIndustry.biz, "We are really happy with the journey of 'Hitman 3. It's a labor of love for our fans and everyone at the studio." As a developer and publisher, we are proud that 'Hitman 3' is already profitable. The total cost of the project was recouped in less than a week. This puts us in a really good position and allows us to confidently move forward with our ambitious plans for future projects."

"Hitman 3" is the first trilogy to be fully developed and published by IO, following the collaboration between Square Enix and Warner Bros. on "Hitman 1" and "Hitman 2". For Ablak, managing everything in-house put the studio in a better position to market the games it was producing.

"Focusing early on allowed us to follow a path that we all believed in. Everyone at the studio was behind the vision for the game, and they know the world of Hitman better than anyone."

Now that 47 is well rested, IO is working on a yet-to-be-titled James Bond game, a project that could be a full spy trilogy. The developer is probably the studio best suited for a Bond adaptation, and with Hitman ending on a positive note, there are high hopes for IO's portrayal of the legendary super-spy.