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Hitman
The announcement that Hitman has now become and episodic title has been made but the good news is that Hitman's release date is still set for the first 'episode'
Let the groans begin as Hitman has now become a fully episodic title as the structure is changed yet again. At least Io Interactive didn't delay the game again right? It is still slated for a March 11th release date for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC but instead of getting the full Hitman game we will only be getting the Prologue mission and the Paris location to play around with and then each of the remain five areas as we progress further into the year. Episodic does seem to be the way of Square Enix now doesn't it?
To break down the release cycle of Hitman better for you, instead of getting Paris, Italy, and Morocco all on March 11th only the first area will be coming and then Italy in April and Morocco in May. The other three locations (Thailand, The US, and Japan) are stated to be part of a regularly monthly update but as no months are given for them I am going to guess sometime before the end of 2016 is going to be the safe bet. At least all of the Hitman will be available at some point. We are just going to have to wait just as the main man from the franchise does for his kill.
“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.”
You can get the Prologue and Paris maps for Hitman in the new Intro Pack for the game. Currently it is set at $15 USD to pre-order. The other locations are set at a $10 USD price for each or you can drop $50 more to pick up everything that will be released for Hitman in terms of locations from there. The truly daring can just drop $60 USD right now to get everything in one sitting but given the delays and hold ups Io Interactive has had with Hitman I am not sure that would be the best of courses to go.
Speaking of, I see all of this as a ploy to make sure Square Enix doesn't have to delay Hitman any more than it already has. I am willing to bet that the only locations that are even near hitting gold status are the two that will be hitting on March 11th and the other ones have only had a little bit of work done. At least that is how I read the above and all of the news about Hitman going episodic. This could either be one of the biggest undertakings that the developer has taken on or the development for Hitman just isn't going as well as they want us all to think.
So, what do you think about Hitman going episodic here? Do you think this is the best move that Io Interactive could have taken to make sure the game releases on time? Would you have rather seen Hitman delayed until May to make sure everything promised already landed on the same day? Let us know in the comments below and discuss away. As we get more on Hitman from Square Enix we will have it up on the site for you. Be sure to keep locked in for more as it unfolds.
