Hitman 3 - Roadmap for 2022 (New maps & stuff)

Even though IOI is likely plenty busy with 007, Hitman 3 won't be cast completely aside just yet and will be getting updates throughout 2022.

• PC Ray Tracing

• PC VR

• Elusive Target Arcade

• New maps, storylines, modes and ways to play

I haven't been keeping up with Elusive Targets as of late and the "Season of x" stuff didn't really do anything for me, but I'm definitely checking back in next year for new maps at least.

Honestly, at this point it's a blank cheque situation with new Hitman maps. I enjoy these games so much that if they make new maps, I will pretty much always buy them. I'm quite excited about this.

The permanently available elusive target stuff is excellent also.

They’re remaking Blood Money. “… most fan requested”

Did they mention it coming to Steam? Thats the update I need. I'm working my way through 2 on steam at the moment so it would be nice to do a seamless transition at the end.

The screenshot looks like the chapel from the last mission. If that's where they're going, I hope they scale those maps up with more things to do. A New Life has already been kind of done but the rest would feel fresh.

@shindig: So many levels from the 'World of Assassination' trilogy are homages to Blood Money Levels: Paris, Dubai, Argentina... my take was that new location looks akin to the NorCal rehab clinic. Then again, if they do the remake, they won't need for these to be 'send up' levels but bona fide high fidelity successors. Also, not sure how the White House mission would be received today.

I haven't seen any official confirmation that the game will definitely be on Steam but the year of exclusivity deal IOI has with the EGS should be over in January. I would imagine they'll probably sell it on Steam after that since there's nothing holding them back from doing so. Most of the other games that had similar exclusivity deals that I can think of have ended up on Steam quite soon after the deal ended.

Feel like those "Epic exclusives" just automatically come out on Steam after a full year past.

Interesting thought, but if you watch the video teaser they've got now, it actually looks like that building might be 47's extremely fancy safe house, because the last shot is of a bunch of hanging targets and a big gun rack. If that's the case, I guess I'm interested to see what they do with it, but they've had safe houses in past games and they haven't really amounted to much. I suppose it might make more sense in the context of VR as a place to practice your aim etc.

But in any case I'm definitely excited to see the full reveal in January of everything they've got planned. Maybe it'll even motivate me enough to finish maxing my mastery on those last five maps...

@atheistpreacher: I've wanted for them to do a hideout since 2 (2018). Seems like a relatively easy add considering the devs get to go hog on environmental storytelling without having to consider most mechanical aspects aside from 47 testing out various guns and maybe some place to try out equipment like EMP or breaching charges. Over the trilogy's lifespan, It feels like slowly but surely IO is bringing back most aspects that were initially missing from 2016 that fans wanted from Blood Money. Regardless of it being Thanksgiving, I just want to say I'm grateful to them for it... and grateful for ya'll.

Welp, IOI recently did a reveal of the Year 2 content. Here's the video:

...and here's IOI's text post about it that goes into a little more detail:

https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-year-2-reveal/

Here's my own quick and dirty summary (everything coming on January 20th unless otherwise noted):

• Elusive Target Arcade. New game mode in which you must complete three elusive targets in a row, with new complications. Completing one will earn you exclusive rewards. Failure will lock you out of attempting it again for 12 hours. However, these will never go away once added.
• VR on PC.
• Trilogy purchasable as one package. No more of the getting them separately nonsense. Available everywhere you'd want it: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, and Epic Store.
• Hitman Trilogy available on Gamepass.
• "Freelancer" Mode (spring 2022). This is a new roguelike mode that seems like the real headliner. Includes a customizable safehouse and campaigns of ~4 missions that can be done in different orders, which will change how the whole thing plays out. Equipment can be bought on site at missions. If you fail a mission or leave equipment on site, it is gone and you'll need to re-acquire it.
• Tech improvements for PC (later in 2022). Ray tracing, implementation of Intel's Xe Super Sampling, and Variable Rate Shading.
• New map, code name "Rocky" (later in 2022).

The Freelancer mode is definitely the thing I'm most interested in, I'm eager to see what the gameplay loop of it actually feels like. It could be uncompelling if not done well, but here's hoping it's a mode that can suck me back in. Been kinda burned out on the game since maxing mastery on all maps.

VR is cool, but I play my Hitman 3 on PS5, so for now that doesn't apply to me (though with new PS VR coming I imagine it will eventually). Elusive Target Arcade is nice for sure, but ultimately I've played all those targets before; a new spin is appreciated but I anticipate finishing that stuff off pretty quickly. A new map is always nice, of course; I wish there was more than one coming, but I guess they've got their hands full developing the Freelance mode.

@atheistpreacher:

This looks really cool. Is the trilogy pack going to be available at retail or is this just a download pack?

I've not heard any talk of a retail release. I'd imagine IO would need to find a publisher, unless WB's still working with them.

I'm all in for Elusive Target arcade. I've always tended to miss them so a replayable mode would let me tackle them at my own pace.

All of this seems neat. I’m curious if the Hitman Trilogy will have a smaller file size than downloading all three games individually. The way the import works on consoles is a solution, but would be nice for a more streamlined thing.

I watched their update trailer and yeah, that all looks great. Hell, is almost made me want to go buy an Index that I most certainly cannot afford.

New maps is the most exciting part. The past year of content with the Seasons of Sins stuff was okay but I don’t really care about shiny suits and guns that look like they should be in Destiny, I care about maps maps maps which results in more challenges, more targets with new ways to fuck up their day.

The downside is, I’m a little worried what they are saying is it’ll be just one new map, singular. Maybe not, but that coastal looking map teased at the end looked contained, so I’m cautiously hopeful it’s more than just that one.

It does also make the whole package a slightly easier sell to new players. E.g., my brother has still never bought or played any of these games even though I keep telling him how good they are. Previously I had to admit that he'd already missed some stuff because X number of elusive targets were done and gone. Now new players will at least be able to experience that content, even if it's not quite the same. Way better than nothing.

Seven Deadly Sins was honestly kind of crap. It was an exorbitant amount of money ($30) for what amounted to seven escalation missions. I ended up buying the discounted package after Christmas for something like half off, I don't remember, but it definitely felt like way overpriced filler. I suspect more people bought it than otherwise would have just to support IOI simply because they'd said there wouldn't be any more Hitman content, that the trilogy was done... at least until the surprise Year 2 announcement happened.

But yeah, actual new maps are always going to be the most exciting thing, the thing that really extends the life of the game. I'm hoping that after they finish and release the new mode they might then turn their attention to more new maps than just the one. Fingers crossed.

Kinda forgot that I made this thread originally.

I’m a little disappointed over the teased map turning out to be just your cozy hiding place (though some part of me was expecting it after seeing the row of guns on the wall before), instead of being some rich dirtbag’s summer cabin, where you could get them mauled by a bear, but it could still be fun and we’ll also get a new mission map eventually.

I think I might actually start the trilogy again on pc through Game Pass, since I only ever played the first game on pc and the other two on consoles.

FWIW the Year 2 stuff is now live... and it's being a tiny bit screwy. Allow me to explain.

The main new thing for the moment (besides the VR if you're on PC) is the Elusive Target Arcade, which will lock you out of playing it for 12 hours if you fail a mission. Well, when I first booted up the game, one of the three available missions was already greyed out as failed even though I clearly hadn't even tried it. I subsequently discovered that leaving the mission select screen and going back in would sometimes fix the problem. The game just seems to randomly decide that I've failed stuff sometimes that I've never attempted, then changes its mind upon checking again. At one point I also went into mission planning and when I tried to actually start the mission, I got an error that said it was now unavailable.

Anyway, if any of this happens to you, and you haven't actually failed the mission, then just back out to the main menu and try again.

Also, these multi-step elusive target missions can still be restarted individually in the same manner that normal single elusive targets can be restarted (as long as you have not started completing objectives), and it will not affect the others in the chain. E.g., you can keep restarting the second of three targets in a chain and you won't have to do the first again or anything like that. Not sure if they'll require you to restart the whole chain if you fail out of a later target (since I haven't failed yet), but my guess is no.

Just beat the first Elusive Target Arcade string.

FWIW the rewards are quite unexciting, though I more or less expected that. Beating any one of the three available chains will get you a re-skinned Krugermeier pistol, and that's it. Don't get me wrong, the Krugermeier pistol is the best standard pistol in the game because it's the most silent (it has both a suppressor and subsonic ammo), but it was already available from both Bangkok (Hitman 1, mastery 20) and Mendoza (Hitman 3, mastery 10).

Still, fun enough to play. There are new restrictions such as only being able to change disguises once, or not being able to kill civilians. And I'd actually missed some of these Hitman 2 elusive targets (that was the one game I didn't play as much).

The pricing on the game on steam is...not great. No discount at all(be that a launch discount or any sort of bundle discount if you already own 1 & 2) and no edition that is just all Hitman 3 stuff, there is a deluxe edition that has a 35 dollar pack of deluxe escalations/soundtrack/artbook etc, but all the Season of Sin stuff isn't included and is instead 30 dollars and not included in any of the bundles. I waited a year, I'll wait longer for a better price.

Managed to pick up the game for PS4 for like $20 over the holidays, the dlc didn't seem to be worth it as they don't offer any new locations, so I just got that and the free access to the other games maps if you owned them. Nice having all of the content in one place with a considerably smaller file size and a platinum trophy finally added to the mix...but I really feel as though the graphics took a noticeable step back coming off the second game with the options offered...at least from the previous missions I played. Can't wait to find time to dive in.