Players hoping to download Hitman 3 on PC when it releases early next year will have to do so through the Epic Games Store. Developer and publisher IO Interactive announced the deal today, confirming that the PC version of the latest entry in the World of Assassination trilogy will launch exclusively on Epic Games’ digital storefront in January 2021.
In addition, IO has released a new trailer featuring Hitman 3’s Dartmoor, England location.
IO explained how the deal benefits the studio in a blog post, saying, “As an independent studio, our partnership with Epic has given us the freedom to create Hitman 3 exactly as we imagined and self-publish the game to our players directly.”
The post goes on to say that it is important for IO to “honour the time our existing PC players have spent” with the previous two games in the trilogy:
With that in mind, we are pleased to confirm that PC players will be able to carryover their current progression and unlocks from Hitman 2 on Steam into Hitman 3 on Epic Games Store. It will also be possible for PC players to import locations from the previous two games into Hitman 3 on Epic Games Store. We want to make it a seamless process for our PC players to enjoy Hitman 3 on a different PC platform and continue to enjoy the benefits of our World of Assassination.
In addition to the deal, 2016’s Hitman will be available to download and own through the Epic Games Store for free from Aug. 27 to Sept. 3.
Hitman 3 launches on PC via the Epic Games Store, Google Stadia, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in January 2021.
Hitman 3 was first announced at a Playstation 5 event earlier this year. IO also recently confirmed that the entire World of Assassination trilogy will be playable in VR at launch.
