In the last few years, we have seen a rise in episodic games. It is becoming quite normal for games to be released in episodes rather than in one go. Well, Hitman can now be added to that list.
It has been announced that the upcoming Hitman title, Hitman, will be releasing in episodic form. Hannes Seifert, Head of Studio at Io-Interactive said, “we decided to take the full leap and publish Hitman as a truly episodic game experience.”
Hitman will be one of the first AAA titles to be released in episodic form followed by Final Fantasy VII, both from Square Enix.
The first episode will be released on March 11th, the second episode will come around in April and so on.
For fans not keen on episodic releases, Hitman will be released on disc at the end of 2016, however, this will lead players to miss out on weekly events that occur during the game’s initial run.
Also announced is the Hitman Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition will contain a full game download code, hardcover 60-page art book, curated by Art Director, Jonathan Rowe, 10” Agent 47 “Chessmaster” Statue, Agent 47 Iconic red tie and clip set and Premium Collector’s Edition packaging (aka the box).
Hitman Now a Fully Episodic AAA Game
Io-Interactive today released further details for Hitman which launches on March 11th for the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC.
A change to the release structure, sees Hitman become a truly episodic AAA game experience, with a major live component. Where players will perform contract hits on powerful, high-profile targets in exotic locations around the world.
Starting with a Prologue Mission and a Paris location on March 11th, followed by the next location, set in Italy releasing in April and then Morocco releasing in May. From there Hitman will deliver regular monthly content updates, including three additional locations; Thailand, the US and Japan until the season concludes in Japan later in 2016. With weekly live events and additional planned content in between the monthly updates.
“We decided to take the full leap and publish Hitman as a truly episodic game experience,” said Hannes Seifert, Head of Studio at Io-Interactive. “Part of that decision is for that little bit of extra time to ensure every location we release is at the quality level fitting for a Hitman game. But the main driving reason is that this will allow us to create a living game that will expand and evolve over time and establish a foundation for the future – this is the first game in a storyline which will continue and expand with future Hitman games.”
A new Intro Pack now contains Prologue and Paris levels and will release at the new price of $15 (or local equivalent). Each subsequent location will be priced at $10 as an add-on item to the Intro Pack. Alternatively, players can buy the Full Experience up front for $60. This includes all of this year’s content as it’s released, and guarantees them not to miss any live or bonus content.
The disc version of Hitman will ship at the end of 2016.
PlayStation users will also gain access to The Sarajevo Six. 6 Bonus Contracts, one of which will be released with each location and sees Agent 47 travel the world in pursuit of six former members of a paramilitary unit called CICADA in this self-contained side-story exclusive for PlayStation 4 users.
For players wanting to get into the game early, the Hitman beta starts on February 12th on PlayStation 4 and February 19th on PC. Players can guarantee access to the beta by pre-ordering the Full Experience or the new Intro Pack.
