Nearly two weeks after the launch of Hitman 3, developer IO Interactive had announced that they have already recouped project costs. It’s an incredible feat made all the more impressive now that they independently developed and published Hitman 3, without the help from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
This much-anticipated third installment in the long running, assassination simulation series resonated extremely well with the community, offering some of the most diverse and visually stunning maps in the entire series. IO demonstrated mastery in their craft, and consistently rewarded the player for exploration and creativity. Aside from a rocky technical launch with the “carry over” system, Hitman 3 proved to be the series’ fastest selling digital game. After completing all of the main missions more than a dozen times over, I eagerly await IO’s plans for post-launch content. Maybe they’ll add more maps like Bank and Haven island from Hitman 2, along with some elusive targets and other challenges to complete.
After speaking with TheGamer, IO executive producer Forest Swartout Large confirms that they’re already looking towards the future – concerning their new 007 project, as well as Hitman 3 post-launch content.
Large continues by stating that:
“We are definitely going to be doing some DLC, but we haven’t defined what that is…I think for now we are not looking at new maps like the bank and the island. We’re more looking at using existing locations and reimagining them, twisting them. And this time around, we can use the whole trilogy. We can look back at Hitman 2016 maps, Hitman 2 maps – we have all the locations.”
Although it’s a little disappointing that we won’t be getting any more levels to explore, I’m interested to see how IO will exactly “twist” their already established maps. This is of course all speculation, but we could see targets intertwined into different maps or locations that we once memorized, altered completely – forcing players to once again explore and remember the layout.
It would also be nice to see more mission stories added to the roster, as they offered some ridiculously amusing assassination paths and narratives to follow. Sean Bean – the actor who always seems to meet an unfortunate fate in everything he stars in – made a little cameo in Hitman 2 as an elusive target. I certainly would not be opposed to seeing more of this from the series.
IO has proved to be one of the most consistent and talented developers working today. It might be a bummer to hear that plans of additional maps will not come into fruition, but IO has chosen a select team to continue post-development on Hitman 3, while others focus on Project 007. Expect more patches and content from this team in the near future. Until then, continue to explore your own creativity and earn mastery ratings for all locations. We’re in good hands, agents.
