On Thursday, developer IO interactive (IOI) revealed the new content headed to Hitman 3 for Year 2, which kicks off later this month. Year 2 will introduce two new game modes, Elusive Target Arcade and Freelancer Mode, along with a new map, codenamed “Rocky”. Hitman 3 will also release on Steam with PC VR support and various technological improvements.
Hitman 3 Year 2 Content Overview
Hitman 3’s Steam debut coincides with the start of Year 2 on January 20, 2022. The game will release with full PC VR support for the entire Hitman trilogy from day one. The complete Hitman Trilogy Collection will also be available for Xbox and PC Game Pass as well as Game Pass Ultimate, opening up the game to even more players.
Two new game modes are lined up for Hitman 3‘s second year of content. The first is Elusive Target Arcade, which puts a challenging twist on the regular Elusive Target game mode. The Arcade version ups the ante by tasking players with taking down targets consecutively, one contract after the next. Failing an Arcade Contract results in a temporary lockout that prevents players from starting the contract again for 12 hours. However, Arcade Contracts are permanent once they’re added, meaning players can return to retry contracts again and again.
The other new game mode is Freelancer Mode, which introduces roguelike gameplay elements to Hitman 3. This single-player mode features a customizable Safehouse that acts as a central base of operations and planning space. In Freelancer, players will set out on various missions, returning to the Safehouse to resupply after each mission. Anything you don’t bring back to the Safehouse will be lost, so you will need to plan accordingly. Freelancer Mode will be available in Spring 2022.
Hitman 3 will also receive a number of technological improvements later this year. PC players will soon get to enable Ray Tracing, which enhances the visual fidelity of reflective surfaces in the game. IOI also plans to implement Variable Rate Shading (VRS), which helps improve PC performance. The studio will also be among the first to implement Intel’s XeSS machine learning tech to improve image quality and performance in Hitman 3.
Year 2 of Hitman 3 begins on January 20. Head over to the IOI website to learn more about what Year 2 has in store.