Hitman 3 Is An Epic Timed Exclusive On PC; New Thornbridge Manor Location Revealed

The PC version of Hitman III will launch exclusively on the Epic Games Store when it arrives in January 2021. The timed exclusivity deal will also see 2016's Hitman given away for free, with players able download and keep the game from August 27 to September 3.

"This partnership with Epic has given us the freedom to create the game exactly as we imagined, for our fans and for our community uncompromised," Hakan Abrak, CEO of IO Interactive, said in a press statement.

For players who ventured into IO Interactive's World of Assassination on Steam, mastery and location access from their existing progress will be carried over to the Epic Games Store. IO Interactive also showcased a new location for Hitman III, in addition to the Dubai skyscraper stage that they used to debut the game during the PlayStation 5 showcase.

Players will be able to explore Thornbridge Manor within England's Dartmoor region and take part in some detective work along the way. IO Interactive describes this new level as a collision between a traditional whodunnit and the “reverse murder mystery” that previous games have focused on. Agent 47 will have to solve a murder and commit one, with the overall mystery having multiple layers and threads to unravel.

"Hitman missions are very complicated affairs with plenty of moving parts and lots of characters you are able to interact with in a huge variety of ways," lead writer Nick Price explained on the IO Interactive website.

"In Dartmoor's murder mystery, we are dialing all of that up to 11. Every member of the family is a possible suspect and it's been quite the challenge to make sure everything doesn't fall apart just because the player wants to play around. In fact, that sort of behavior should be rewarded in a HITMAN game, so we have been working hard on making sure that depending on what a player discovers during their investigation, outcomes might differ. It's going to be great fun to see how everyone tackles this particular problem next year."

IO Interactive also detailed recently how Elusive Targets, Escalation missions, and Contract modes will be overhauled in the future, while also ending server support for Ghost Mode and Sniper Assassin's competitive multiplayer. Hitman III launches on current and next-gen consoles next year as well, with PlayStation players able to experience the entire game in VR.