Io Interactive has to date made its bones by creating hyperviolent action adventures involving the likes of killers for hire and escaped cons on a warpath. With its latest effort, the Danish developer is maintaining its cloaked-killer sentiments, but its protagonist of choice will be more concerned with the inner workings of Zen than that of a garrote wire.

　　Ninjas can, on occasion, be family-friendly. Today, the Eidos-owned studio announced Mini Ninja, a new intellectual property for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC. The game is expected to be released this fall.

　　Io did not provide much by way of gameplay details, but did offer an overview of the game's story. Mini Ninja will follow the travails of Hiro, "the world's smallest hero," who ventures forth to defeat an army of evil samurai and restore harmony to the world. Hiro will have a number of skills at his disposal, as well as access to kuji magic. The tiny ninja will also team up with a number of allies in his bid to defeat the Evil Samurai Warlord.

　　Tiny ninjas in the wild. A far cry from the company's hallmark M-for-Mature-rated fare, Mini Ninjas is aimed at the E10+ crowd. However, fans of the studio's more bloodthirsty games need not fret, given that Eidos revealed in 2007 that a follow-up to IO's well-received Hitman: Blood Money is also in the works.

　　Eidos, which is currently the subject of takeover talks, will team with rumored suitor Warner Bros. Interactive to distribute the game in North America.