Back when the first entry in IO Interactive’s World of Assassination trilogy of Hitman games launched, the plan was always to treat it more as a platform that could be updated and serve as the basis of future games. Given how successful this modern Hitman trilogy has been, IO’s efforts have paid off although it arguably became more difficult to tell exactly what you were paying for considering all three games can be purchased separately.
IO seems to think things have got a little too confusing, which is why it’s implementing a simplified rebranding and making some key changes. On January 26, Hitman 3 will be renamed Hitman World of Assassination and include access to the previous two Hitman games. This will also become the sole option you can purchase, meaning newcomers can safely buy it knowing they’re getting all three games in one. If you already own Hitman 3, the game will be freely upgraded to World of Assassination across all platforms.
As IO sums it up on its website, “All new players and existing Hitman 3 owners will have the same base content ownership. There will be no more confusion over which edition to buy, what content you own, how to redeem Legacy packs or import locations, etc.”
From there, you can purchase the World of Assassination Deluxe Pack that consists of the Hitman 3 Deluxe Pack, the Hitman 3 Seven Deadly Sins Collection, and the Hitman 2 Expansion Access Pass.
While all of this will make the process more straightforward for newcomers, IO aims to be a bit more flexible with existing players so as to avoid forcing them to re-buy pieces of content they already paid for. As such, it’s providing these players a “complete the set” option on Steam that lets them buy any DLC packs they don’t own, while other platforms will receive the individual DLC packs in the in-game store at a reduced price.
Lastly, IO states that all these changes have been made with the game’s Freelancer roguelike mode in mind, which is also launching on January 26. All in all, this does make playing and purchasing Hitman clear-cut. Now you know precisely what you’re getting if you buy Hitman, which is all three games, with the option to invest in the additional DLC if you wish.
