Since the beginning of the month, developer Io-Interactive has had hardcore HITMAN fans speculating and salivating over what would be revealed on October 24. Today being said day, we finally have the answer. Early this morning we got the surprise news that HITMAN would get a Game of the year edition release on November 7th, 2017. This is not going to be your daddy's Complete First Season.
While this new (digital-only) release will include the complete first season, there is a full complement of bonus goodies. First and foremost, we have the “Patient Zero” campaign, which spans four of the most popular locations of the first season. This content will involve new missions, new targets and players will experience Sapienza, Bangkok, Hokkaido and Paris as never before! Io made it clear that the announcement would not involve season 2 but this is huge nonetheless.
Here is a rundown of everything included in the GOTY Edition along with descriptions:
- HITMAN The Complete First Season
- New: ‘Patient Zero’ Campaign
- New: Clown Suit and themed weapon
- New: Raven Suit and themed weapon
- New: Cowboy Suit and themed weapon
- New: 3 themed Escalation Contracts
The Complete First Season
This is everything that we created for HITMAN Season One. All seven locations, all bonus missions, all of the Challenge Packs, Escalation Contracts, Featured Contracts and more than 700 challenges! We’re talking more than 100 hours of gameplay and a game that we’re continuing to improve. See below for more of that.
New: Patient Zero Campaign
After the routine elimination of a target, a contingency plan to unleash a global pandemic is triggered and Agent 47 must race against the clock to prevent a virus from spreading. This four-mission campaign spans different locations in the game, each one re-worked from the original settings with new gameplay opportunities, disguises, characters, challenges, gameplay mechanics, AI behaviour and HUD elements. Bangkok, Sapienza, Colorado and Hokkaido look and feel completely different with a new time of day and new custom music created by the composer for Season One, Niels Bye Nielsen.
New: Clown Suit and ‘A New Bat’
Corky the Clown is back! This fan-favourite from Blood Money returns in HITMAN and his red wig, colourful socks and giant shoes look better than ever! Not only does the clown suit look great, but it’s the only way to carry his signature weapon without attracting attention. ‘A New Bat’ will trigger custom sound and visual effects every time it is used.
New: Raven Suit and ‘Sieger 300 Ghost’
Where tactical meets practical and stylish, you’ll find the Raven Suit. This is the perfect choice for Agent 47’s sniper operations. The Raven Suit is black and charcoal with the finest gloves and pockets for every tool. The Sieger 300 Ghost is a unique ICA variant of the Sieger 300 and the all-black rifle perfectly matches the Raven Suit for high-precision, high-damage long-range engagements. It’s got a supressor, an extended scope with four levels of zoom and the Marksman perk, which allows you to improve your aim and slow time.
New: Cowboy Suit and ‘The Striker’
The Cowboy suit is steel blue on patriotic white and comes complete with a beautiful set of albino alligator boots, sunglasses and a cowboy hat as pure as Colorado snow. Naturally, the belt buckle is the size of your fist. Accompanying this suit is The Striker; a magnum pistol that packs one hell of a punch. Not only does it have increased damage at all ranges, it also knocks back targets and has piercing rounds.
New: Themed Escalation Contracts
There’s more! We’ve created a new Escalation Contract for each new weapon/suit combination. You’ll be dressing in each new suit and using each new weapon as you complete Escalation Contracts with some brand new complications based on some new gameplay mechanics. We’ve themed these new features with each suit to make for some unique experiences.
Each Escalation comes with a new starting location unique to that Contract and all of the Escalations are made up of 3-stages, so expect the challenge to ramp up quickly- one of the Escalations reaches 7 targets, something we’ve never done before in this game. Completing each Escalation Contract will unlock the corresponding weapon to be used in all locations across the entire game, which means that Clown Only, Striker Only runs are now possible and we can’t wait to see them!
The HITMAN GOTY Edition will be available digitally to PC, PS4 and Xbox One players on November 7 for $60 if you are purchasing HITMAN for the first time. If you already own the game and want the GOTY content, there will be a $20 upgrade option. Whether or not you buy the upgrade, there will be free enhancements that existing players will get in a patch. Here is everything that will potentially change for the existing game:
– A redesigned UI with a new colour scheme and visual style
A fresh new look across the board and re-organised menus to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.
– New Contracts Mode features
‘Trending’ helps you find the most popular contracts, making sure you can easily find a new challenge. We’re also adding 10 ‘Conditions’ that will add huge depth to Contracts Mode, such as restricting disguise changes or requiring players to use a specific exit. Anyone who creates a contract will be able to toggle these conditions to set a more defined challenge for their contract.
– Major lighting improvements to all missions
New colour grading, readjusted HDR adaptation rules and re-designed skyboxes mean that our locations look more vivid, vibrant and lifelike.
– Commemorative Elusive Target Unlock
If you played any of the Elusive Targets we released during Season One, we’re giving you an in-game coin to commemorate your progress and thank you for your support.
– Xbox One X Enhancements
A whole host of enhancements are on the way for Xbox One X owners, including options for native 4K and a higher framerate. Specific details to come in a Xbox-specific blog post.
– Tobii Eye Tracking support for PC
Enhance your killer instincts with Dynamic Light Adaptation, Extended View and a new special feature added specifically for HITMAN. Find more details here.
– Various fixes and improvements
Full release notes will be published closer to 7 November. That should be enough time to start thinking about your default loadout for each location…
Oh, and one more thing…
– Elusive Target Re-activation
Starting in November, we will re-activate Elusive Targets. If you missed any Elusive Targets the first time around, or if you are new to HITMAN, this is your chance to experience these intense time-limited targets. All of the suit unlocks are back in play for both new and existing players to complete their collection. If you’ve already completed or failed an Elusive Target, you won’t be able to play that specific contract again; your record for that contract will stand and cannot be altered. Re-activated ET’s will still be time-limited and the first one will be re-activated shortly after the release of our Game of the Year Edition on November 7th.
