Hannes Seifert, studio head of Hitman developer IO Interactive, has left the company after seven years. 

During his time at the Square Enix-owned developer, Seifert helped turn the Hitman franchise into an episodic success story, and also brought the series to smartphones with the launch of Hitman GO. 

Writing on Facebook, Seifert said he's leaving for pastures new to be nearer his family, after spending the past seven years commuting between Austria and Denmark. 

Before joining Square in 2010, Seifert helped co-found Deep Silver Vienna (initially called Games That Matter), and served as executive producer on a number of projects including Dead Island. 

Prior to that, he had a lengthy 14 year spell at Rockstar's Vienna office, where he worked on a number of huge franchises including Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto as the studio's managing director.

"Today you might have read that I am going to leave Square Enix. I do this with a very heavy heart. I am really grateful for the opportunities I had here and I genuinely enjoyed working with everyone," he wrote. 

"I am going to miss Denmark, the games we worked on, the studio itself, and most of all the people. Across Square Enix I had the privilege to work with many very dear colleagues, and privately I also found quite a few close friends."

IO Interactive's former studio production director, Hakan Abrack, will now take on the mantle of studio head. There's currently no word on where Seifert is heading next.