The Hitman series is one of the best in video games when it comes to stealth gameplay, but the newest game in the series slated for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has apparently been cancelled, which may spell bad news for the future of the franchise.

The new Hitman game was first announced in 2011, and was set to be the first game in the series to be developed by Square Enix Montreal. It was thought that that studio would alternate with original Hitman developer IO Interactive in delivering Hitman games for fans, but that also appears to no longer be the case. Videogamer reports that senior game designer Richard Knight has changed his LinkedIn profile to reflect the news as the game designer has taken "Hitman Project (Next-Gen Consoles/Current Gen/PC)" off his profile and replaced it with "Prototyping games in short dev cycles for Tablet devices."

While this is bad news for Hitman fans, there is still a new game in the works for the series. Square Enix has confirmed that IO Interactive is in pre-production on a next-gen Hitman game for consoles, but it is not confirmed if this is an original Hitman title or if IO is taking over the cancelled Hitman project from Square Enix Montreal. Square Enix has yet to formally announce this game, so not much is known about the game as of yet.

Previously, it was announced that Square Enix Montreal would shift focus from developing console games to mobile games, so the news about the untitled Hitman game being cancelled may not be much of a surprise to some. IO Interactive was also downsized in 2012, with Square Enix allowing the studio to focus on the future of the Hitman series.

The last game in the Hitman series, Hitman: Absolution, was released on Nov. 20, 2012. The game was well received both by critics and fans of the series. Though the game managed to sell well, it did not meet Square Enix's sales expectations, and that could of been a contributing factor to the troubles Square Enix faced in 2012 and 2013.

In any case, while fans can no longer look forward to the Square Enix Montreal Hitman game, the series will continue with IO Interactive, which may for the best considering the company's history with the franchise.