Hitman 3is coming to PC, but with a catch. IO Interactive’s upcoming stealth game will beexclusive to the Epic Games Storefor 12 months when it launches in January.
IO Interactive announced the deal ina blog postwhich revealed new details about the game.
“As an independent studio, our partnership with Epic has given us the freedom to createHitman 3exactly as we imagined and self-publish the game to our players directly. It’s also important to us that we honor the time our existing PC players have spent in our previous games.”
IO confirmed that PC players will be able to transfer theirHitman 2progress and unlocks from Steam to the Epic Games Store. Players can import locations from bothHitmanandHitman 2as well.
To celebrate the deal, players can pick upHitmanfor free on the Epic Games Store starting Thursday, August 27.
Hitman 3is the latest major title to sign a timed exclusivity deal with the Epic Games Store. Previously, titles such asBorderlands 3andFallout 76were only available on PC through the storefront. Both titles finally came to Steam earlier this spring.
The announcement came alongside a trailer for the game, which showed off the game’s second mission. Set in Dartmoor, England, the Thornbridge Mystery mission features a “murder mystery” element. IO says players will disguise themselves as a detective and solve a family murder in a large manor (similar to whodunits likeKnives Out), all while committing one of their own.
“Every member of the family is a possible suspect, and it’s been quite the challenge to make sure everything doesn’t fall apart just because the player wants to play around,” explains lead writer Nick Price. “In fact, that sort of behavior should be rewarded in a Hitman game, so we have been working hard on making sure that depending on what a player discovers during their investigation, outcomes might differ.
Pre-orders forHitman 3will go live later this month. In addition to the Epic Games Store, the game will be available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Playstation 5, Xbox Series X, and Google Stadia. The game is slated for a January 2021 release.
