Hitman 3 will have a “more mature, serious, darker” tone

I’ve done some very…silly stuff within IO Interactive’s Hitman games. The last four years have resulted in a masterpiece of stealth and assassination from the Swedish studio, but even in a world that gave me free reign to plot the most grisly of deaths for the unlucky bastards in my crosshairs I just couldn’t help myself thanks to all that freedom that was just waiting to be exploited.

I’ve run through levels and eliminated targets with everything from a homing briefcase to an exploding golf ball, I’ve chucked muffins at victims and choked out a vegan on his own birthday cake. Hitman 2 was the peak of all this wacky mass murder, as the game’s explosion of pink and promotional materials emphasised that Agent 47 was just as lethal with a massive fish as he was with a handful of piano wire.

For Hitman 3 however? IO Interactive is going back to a “more mature, serious, darker” tone according to community manager Travis Barbour in yesterday’s livestream. That’s not to say that Hitman 3 will be completely devoid of humour though, as Agent 47 will probably still deliver his trademark dry wit just before he pushes the button on an assassination that is designed to look like the mother of all accidents. There will be humour, but much like the overall tone of the game, it’s going to be darker than bread left in a toaster for too long. And just as delicious. Yes I like burnt toast.

IO Interactive’s other big news announcement for Hitman 3 was that the game would be self-published, bringing the world of assassination saga to an end. Square Enix published the 2016 Hitman game, Warner Bros. Interactive swooped in to save the series in 2018 and now IO Interactive will end the saga on their own terms in 2021.

If you’re worried that that means a return to a more episodic format for Hitman 3 (I wouldn’t mind!), fret not: IO ‘s plan for Hitman 3 is a full release of all six locations on day one, with Hitman 1 and Hitman 2 being fully supported and integrated into this final chapter. It’s going to be bloody huuuuuuge when it arrives on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in January 2021.

Last Updated: June 26, 2020