Hitman 3 will see developers IO Interactive self-publish the game. And we probably know why now.
A new trailer was dropped to showcase the second new level after Dubai, set in Dartmoor, England. It shows Agent 47 tackling the Thornbridge Mystery, a one of the Mission Stories you can follow to assassinate your target. In this route, he has to play detective to figure out a murder case. And then add one more to it.
But the bigger bombshell is the news that Hitman 3 will launch as an Epic Games Store exclusive for PC.
“As an independent studio, our partnership with Epic has given us the freedom to create Hitman 3 exactly as we imagined and self-publish the game to our players directly,” the statement on the blog post reads.
Now, before you rage about it, IO has confirmed that they will honour PC players on Steam who has Hitman 2016 and Hitman 2 by still allowing you to import the levels/locations you already own. So they’re not asking you to rebuy the two games on the other store.
Also, Hitman 2016 will be offered for free as part of Epic’s weekly free games giveaway.
IO also confirmed that progression transfer from Hitman 2 to Hitman 3 will still be available on PC.
Epic has continued to flex their money by way of helping independent studios financially. And this is nothing surprising. At the very list, the IO has covered most bases to ensure the transition to the Epic Games Store, as a 1-year limited-time exclusive as hassle-free for existing players.
Hitman 3 launches in January 2021 for the PS4 (with PS VR support), PS5, PC (Epic Games Store), Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Stadia.