The grand finale of the contemporary Hitman trilogy of games, Hitman 3, might not have had quite as comprehensive of a post-launch support plan as its immediate predecessor did, but the developer IO Interactive managed to spin it around into something interesting after all. Namely, it announced the so-called Freelancer Mode, which is the upcoming roguelite sandbox campaign for the game.
While the Freelancer Mode for Hitman 3 initially had a tentative Spring 2022 release date, it seems that it's going to miss this release window by a fair margin, according to the latest developer blog from IO Interactive. "We think it will be worth the wait," says the blog, which was also used to announce a batch of content that will be releasing in the interim.
The news that Hitman 3 will add a special Freelancer Mode came out at the start of 2022 to positive reactions from the community, but it's going to need more time in the oven, according to IO Interactive. The blog says that internal testing sessions are well underway, however, and that playable builds of Freelancer have even been shared with some community members for much-needed feedback. According to developers, the new release window for Freelancer is the second half of 2022, as they are hoping to build a long-lasting content platform that players will enjoy for years to come.
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Freelancer Mode is, effectively, a romp through all three games' worth of content, with new contracts generating on the fly, and 47 being forced to maintain his gear, source it from traders and black market dealers, and even customize and upgrade a special hideout location that's never been seen before in a Hitman game. Since Freelancer won't offer ready access to all the best gear in Hitman 3, players will need to play carefully and methodically, especially since they'll be actively hunted by other NPC assassins.
To soften the blow of Freelancer getting pushed back, IO Interactive also showed off its new May 2022 content roadmap (featured above), though the more interesting bit of news relates to Hitman 3's new tropical map, Ambrose Island. This entirely new level is supposed to be coming out in July, and will presumably feature a new XP progression track, targets, gear, and more.
Finally, IO Interactive also announced that Hitman 3's PC ray tracing mode will be coming out on May 24 as part of Patch 3.110, substantially upgrading the game's visual presentation for players with RT-ready graphics cards. The fact that Freelancer Mode is pushed back, then, comes with a bit of silver lining, in that the game won't be left out to dry until the roguelite campaign finally comes out.
Hitman 3 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IO Interactive