| Hitman 3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | IO Interactive[a] |
| Publisher(s) | IO Interactive[a] |
| Director(s) | Mattias Engström |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Programmer(s) |
|
| Artist(s) | Alexander Andersen |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Composer(s) | Niels Bye Nielsen |
| Series | Hitman |
| Engine | Glacier |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Stealth |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Hitman 3[b] is a 2021 stealth game developed and published by IO Interactive. It is the eighth main installment in the Hitman video game series, the sequel to 2018's Hitman 2, and the third game in the World of Assassination trilogy. Concluding the story arc started in 2016's Hitman, the game follows genetically engineered assassin Agent 47 and his allies as they hunt down the leaders of the secretive organization Providence, which controls global affairs and was partially responsible for 47's creation and upbringing. Like its two predecessors, the game is structured around six levels, five of which are large sandbox locations that players can freely explore to find opportunities to eliminate their targets. Each mission presents challenges that players can complete to unlock items.
The base game features six locations: Dubai, Dartmoor, Berlin, Chongqing, Mendoza, and the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. A post-launch update introduced a new island location set in the Andaman Sea. Unlike its predecessors, IO Interactive wanted the game to be more story-driven. As a result, Hitman 3 has a more mature and serious tone. After years of working on Hitman games, the team was more willing to experiment with its mission design, shaking up the existing gameplay loop and realizing ideas that they had been unable or afraid to implement in the past, such as framing assassination opportunities within a murder-mystery in the Dartmoor level. While gameplay is largely similar to its predecessor, developers were inspired by immersive sim games, adding many of the game's features.
Hitman 3, the first game to be self-published by IO Interactive after becoming an independent studio, was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch (via cloud gaming) on 20 January 2021. It received positive reviews, with praise for its level design and atmosphere, stealth mechanics, and 47's abilities. Some critics called it the best entry in the series; the game has been called one of the greatest stealth games of all time. Hitman 3 was the most commercially successful in the series, and was extensively supported by IO with several releases of downloadable content and free updates that added features, game modes, and a location. In January 2023, IO rebranded Hitman 3 as Hitman: World of Assassination, with the contents of the previous two Hitman games becoming available to Hitman 3 owners, free of charge, along with a new roguelike game mode called "Freelancer", which is set after the Hitman 3 epilogue. Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded, a standalone expanded version of the game's VR mode, was released for Meta Quest 3 by XR Games in September 2024.
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