I’m not kidding when I say Hitman 2 is the best thing to happen this year in gaming for me. As a long time fan of the series, it’s great to see Agent 47 and IO interactive gain solid footwork and return to the glory days of Blood Money.
The series faced its fair share of ups and downs over the years and one noteworthy incident is, of course, the episodic format of Hitman 2016. Games Industry recently conducted an interview with IO Interactive’s Sven Liebold where he looked back at the decision to go episodic and explained how it divided the community.
In Liebold’s words:
“A lot of people were very happy with the episodic format, and it worked for us in the regard that when you play in one location for around one month, and then the next one drops, we sort of re-educated the player that we are all about replayability,” he said. “And we want to make the game fun, so it’s not a chore. We want you to feel like ‘Yeah, I want to play this game.’ So it’s not about rushing through a level. You can go in and do different things, try different things, and people started to realize, ‘Huh, this is what Hitman’s all about.’
“But then we had people who were not so happy with that format. So for Hitman 2, we wanted to bring everyone together so everyone’s happy.”
Even if the studio is going back to the standard content format, they are hopeful to satisfy fans of the episodic content through extensive post-launch support. The studio is also looking into expanding the co-op aspect introduced in the game’s Sniper Assassin mode. Hitman 2 will launch with 6 locations at launch and those who already own Hitman 2016 and purchase Hitman 2 will receive a remastered version of Hitman 2016’s locations to play in its sequel as well, complete with mechanics introduced in the new game.
I just can’t wait to get my hands on Hitman 2 when it finally launches on 13 November 2018.