The first game to release under Eidos Interactive's management was Hitman: Contracts, the third game in the Hitman franchise, which was announced and released in April that year.[21] The game was developed in about nine months, from concept stage to console submission, but was under the influence of "crunch time" throughout the entire development.[22] Contracts received positive reception.[23][24] The next game, Hitman: Blood Money, was announced shortly afterwards, in November 2004.[25] Released in May 2006,[26] the game was praised by critics and retrospectively multiply referred to as the best game in the Hitman series.[27][28]