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Hitman 3’s first anniversary is 2 months away, and developer IO Interactive has huge plans for the sport’s second 12 months of existence, together with the long-awaited launch of recent maps and modes, the studio introduced Monday.
“New maps, storylines, modes and methods to play are all lined up for 2022,” IO stated in a weblog put up. That will probably be welcome information for Hitman 3 gamers, who’ve expressed frustration because the sport’s launch in January that its post-launch downloadable content material — the $29.99 Seven Lethal Sins growth, which IO rolled out in seven elements from March by October — reuses present maps relatively than delivering new ones. (Hitman 2’s DLC launched two extra areas: a financial institution in Manhattan, and a resort within the Maldives.)
Particulars about Hitman 3’s new maps, and a few “main replace to the sport” scheduled for the spring, will come later, however IO teased one of many new modes in its weblog put up: Elusive Goal Arcade, which is able to ship “the last word Elusive Goal problem in a change to the established components on this fan-favourite sport mode.” Most significantly, IO stated that every thing in Elusive Goal Arcade “will probably be a everlasting addition to the sport.” It is a huge deal for Hitman veterans, because the main draw back of Elusive Targets as they presently exist is that they’re limited-time occasions — there’s no approach to replay them.
2022 will probably be a giant 12 months significantly for individuals who have performed — or are nonetheless wanting ahead to taking part in — Hitman 3 on Home windows PC. The PC model of the sport launched as a 12-month Epic Video games Retailer unique, so it would presumably be launched on Steam and different PC storefronts as soon as the sport’s first birthday arrives on Jan. 20, 2022. We’ve requested IO Interactive for affirmation, and we’ll replace this text with any info we obtain.
One Hitman 3 characteristic that PC gamers haven’t been in a position to attempt in any respect is digital actuality, because the VR mode has up to now been out there completely on PlayStation VR, assist for which is restricted to the PlayStation 4 model of the sport. IO introduced Monday that it’s going to carry the VR mode — which permits for enjoying all the World of Assassination trilogy in VR inside Hitman 3 — to PC in January. The studio stated that it’s going to present specifics on headset and platform compatibility later, forward of launch.
PC gamers have additionally been ready a very long time for the arrival of ray-traced graphics in Hitman 3. A 12 months in the past, two months forward of the sport’s launch, IO stated it deliberate so as to add ray tracing “later in 2021.” However that launch window has now shifted, with IO saying Monday that it’s going to carry ray tracing to the sport someday in 2022. The studio has solely ever referred to ray tracing as a PC characteristic — developed by a partnership with Intel — so don’t count on it to come back to the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Collection X variations of the sport. You may catch a glimpse of ray tracing in motion in Hitman 3’s Dubai and Chongqing ranges in a video that IO launched Monday alongside its weblog put up. (When it comes to particular ray tracing options, the clips seem to indicate off ray-traced reflections on the very least.)
IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak appeared firstly of the video to introduce the studio’s plans for 12 months 2 of Hitman 3, and to supply two tidbits associated to the sport’s success: He stated that Hitman 3 is now “essentially the most profitable Hitman sport of all time,” and that the World of Assassination trilogy, which started in 2016 with the franchise reboot Hitman, has reached 50 million gamers. IO didn’t present particulars on the metrics for Hitman 3’s success — as an example, on whether or not Abrak was referring to a number-of-players measurement or just to unit gross sales — so we’ve requested the studio for clarification.
In October, IO introduced that gross sales of Hitman 3 had generated revenues of greater than thrice the sport’s improvement price range, contributing tremendously to essentially the most profitable 12 months within the studio’s historical past. Along with Hitman 3 content material, IO is presently engaged on an unique James Bond online game and an unannounced mission.
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