IO Interactive, the renowned developer behind the iconic Hitman series and one of the most prominent AAA game companies, has expanded its global presence with the opening of a new studio in Istanbul, Turkiye.
IO Interactive held a special welcoming event in its new studio, and we interviewed the company’s CEO and co-owner, Hakan Abrak, and CTO, Ulas Karademir.
Although we briefly discussed IO Interactive’s upcoming games, Project 007 and Project Fantasy, this interview mainly focuses on the new studio in Istanbul and IO Interactive’s future goals.
To improve the reading experience, we refer to Hakan Abrak as “HA” and Ulas Karademir as “UK” in the rest of the interview.
What was the main reason for opening a studio in Istanbul, Turkiye?
HA: Today, IO Interactive makes global games that are played all around the world. We started our journey in Denmark and grew into Sweden, Barcelona, Istanbul, and, most recently, the United Kingdom. Denmark has only 5 million people, and that is simply not enough talent to carry IOI to where it stands right now.
We go where the talent is. And it’s not only about talent. It’s about bringing a different perspective, a new culture, and a vision to our studio’s games that we want to see in them.
UK: The games industry in Istanbul has improved significantly in the last 6-7 years, especially with the rise of hyper-casual and casual games. There is now a serious talent pool, and we wanted to reach out to this talent.
Istanbul also holds an important bridge to Asia. You can bring talented people from the Middle East, Africa, North Africa, and the Balkans much more easily to Istanbul than Europe.
When you work on international titles like Hitman and James Bond, you need an international team.
Can you talk about the difficulties when you were establishing the Istanbul studio?
HA: Every studio we develop starts organically, and that brings a challenge. We do this because our values are incredibly important to us. After moving myself and my family, I handpicked people individually by finding the second, third, and fourth person. Our studios all work in the same or very close time zones, allowing us to work as one team.
One of our advantages was that there were so many people who loved the Hitman franchise in Turkiye. IOI and Hitman hold a strong position in the industry, and that attracts interest from everyone. Turkiye welcomed us with open arms, and we were welcomed with huge sympathy and empathy.
We aim to bring IOI’s quality and know-how to Turkiye and grow the Triple-A industry. Many talented people who have worked in mobile games want to switch to the Triple-A industry. We want to make this dream a reality for them and grow their talent together.
Another advantage is the Marmara Teknokent. These types of programs offer many advantages that allow us to grow quicker and stronger. The Göztepe location is a huge central location. There are many students in the university, which will allow us to launch a student program and utilize the local talent.
For me, the biggest challenge is living in Turkiye while managing a company In Denmark.
For our team, the biggest challenge is transportation. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter where your studio is regarding transportation in Istanbul. Whether you live in the Asian or European side, some people will have to deal with traffic. So, there is no escaping from that reality.
Image Credit: IO Interactive
Can you discuss how the Istanbul studio fits into the company’s development pipeline?
UK: In IOI, we have certain values. One of them is “One team, one rule.” Everyone at IOI is equal. Everyone at every one of our studios works as one team and acts on projects in the same way. We don’t want anyone to feel 2nd class and anything differently.
Another important value in IOI is “Dare to Lead“. What that means is to be brave and take responsibility for your work. Taking initiative and how you solve a problem is incredibly important in IOI.
If you put in the work, be brave, and take responsibility, there are opportunities to rise in IOI. It doesn’t matter which studio you are in.
How does the talent pool in Istanbul align with IO Interactive’s needs? Have you encountered any challenges or opportunities when hiring locally?
UK: IO Interactive is in a growing stage. When you are a small studio, you go for experienced people as you require their skill sets to be used immediately. As you grow, you go for mid-level talent, and as you grow more, you go for talent in the beginning stages.
IOI has reached almost 400 people, and we want to grow a talent pool and educate them. We are looking for talented people with no experience, but we are also always on the lookout for experienced people who make creative stuff.
To get into more specifics on the development side, a vast pool of talent works in C# in Turkiye. That’s mainly because of the influence of hyper-casual and casual games.
However, our in-house engine, Glacier, works on C++. We also have a visual programming tool, but our main focus is knowledge of C++. One incredibly important factor here is knowledge of problem-solving. When you start to learn programming, you learn a language, but problem-solving is on another level.
When you need to fix something, you can copy and paste the correct code and be done with it. Problem-solving is different. When you want to make something original, which is how IOI develops its games, the language you use in programming disappears and becomes less important.
That’s why we specifically look for people who can solve problems.
The same rule applies to our design and art departments. If you want to immerse a player, you need to understand their feelings. You need to know how to create fun and joy for your players. The experience to craft this doesn’t come from years; it comes from how much you try different things and how much you succeed and fail.
Image Credit: IO Interactive
What advice would you give to those who want to apply for IOI?
UK: Apply now!
HA: We examine people’s portfolios. Are they putting their work into a public space, gathering feedback, and showing their passion and love for the work they do? We are not specifically looking for something revolutionary.
What we see is that if they have the drive to pursue their dreams, they are willing to push forward to create something despite possible negative comments. We also see how they think, whether they have creative visions or interesting thoughts.
In Turkiye, it’s important in people’s eyes which university you go to. This concept doesn’t exist in Denmark. We care about you, not the university you went into. To give an example from my own life, my grades were not like all #1 in every class. However, there was a light in my life to create and pursue making video games. If you have that passion, that light in your life, then you can create something extremely successful. You need to show that to the people.
To give an example of how we search for talent, sometimes Ulas sees something someone has done about our game using different and creative techniques. This could be something programming-related or art-related; it doesn’t matter. We contact these people and talk with them about implementing their ideas into our games.
Or let’s say you have contacted us. Show us everything you have worked on. We want to see, we want to know. We are not looking for the perfect, %100 percent completed work. We want to see which mistakes you made before and what lessons you learned from those.
UK: To get into more specifics in the skillsets and programming side, we are looking for two types of people in programming.
First, we are looking for gameplay programmers. Their first priority is how to make the gameplay more fun for the players.
The second one is people who would be able to work on our in-house Glacier Engine. That’s why Data Structures and Algorithms are vital. We held up a live test to monitor live and contact the person who made the assignment. We expect them to tell us what they were thinking while developing and their approach to problem-solving.
What can you tell us about the future of Hitman, your upcoming game, James Bond, and Project Fantasy?
UK: They are going to be amazing!
HA: Hitman is IOI’s spine. It’s the game that represents IOI at the biggest stage and an established IP for over 25 years.
However, we are one of the few studios that have created multiple original IPs. While James Bond isn’t an original IP, we are making a Bond game that will feel like it. This game is not related to any film or book for James Bond. It’s being made from the ground up for players, featuring an original story of becoming James Bond. It is incredibly important to have this IP and trust.
Christian (Christian Elverdam – CCO at IOI) and I love fantasy games. All I can say about Project Fantasy is that if I start talking about it, I won’t be able to stop myself because of how much I love this game. It is not only a dream project but also a love project. Our expectations are incredibly high, and we want to deliver the game players deserve and meet our expectations. However, there is still time to talk about it, and I look forward to players getting their hands on the game.
With four original IPs and Hitman reaching its 25th anniversary, we look forward to our future and hope to achieve different IPs that will reach multiple 25th anniversaries.
Image Credit: IO Interactive
Do you have any final thoughts before we conclude our interview?
UK: It’s important to be here in Istanbul and young people choosing to come to work with us. We have 25 years of history in Triple-A gaming. We have developed 10 games in the last 20 years, all of which are of high quality and high production value. That is an incredible achievement.
The people coming here to work at IOI will take advantage of this expertise and improve the quality of workers in Istanbul. That’s something that will improve the know-how of the industry here. I’m not only talking about the programming side; we can grow people in the marketing, narrative, and all other sides to achieve diverse know-how.
HA: The head of IO Interactive is Turkish, our CTO is Turkish, and we carry that proudly. Being a global studio and carrying that into Turkiye is an achievement and an honor. I hope we will spark a light in Triple-A gaming in Istanbul and carry it ourselves and with other studios.
IOI is growing stronger than ever. And I can’t wait for players to experience our new games.
Hakan Abrak, CEO and Co-Owner of IO Interactive
Ulas Karademir, CTO of IO Interactive
