Fans of the Hitman franchise have, for the most part, not been disappointed with Hitman 3. Reviews are positive and the game has already sold very well.
In fact, Hitman 3 has sold so well that it has already made its creators, IO Interactive, a profit. According to an interview, it took less than a week for Hitman 3 to recoup its total production cost. After that, the creators are making money with every sale of the game. Since this game marks the moment when IO Interactive is stepping away from the Hitman series, at least for a while, it's good to know that the jumping off point for the company into uncharted waters is a profitable one.
The popularity of Hitman 3 has not been in debate, being the conclusion to a reboot of a well-loved video game franchise, but whether it would end in a bang or a whimper was a genuine question. Not everyone is a fan of some of the aspects of the Hitman games in the World of Assassination trilogy, and these factors have led to divided opinions on the previous two games. Fortunately, Hitman 3 outsold its predecessor, particularly in the UK, and brought home the bacon for IO in a big way.
Hitman 3's story wraps up the long tale of revenge, reclamation of identity, and punishment of greed that has wound its way through the World of Assassination trilogy. In it, players uncover a lot of things they never knew about Agent 47, making lore-hounds very happy. It also iterates on some of the best features of the franchise while staying away from some of the things people didn't like so much. Much like Hitman 2, it did not follow the episodic release format of the first Hitman game in the trilogy, letting players get right into the action.
There's certainly a lot to love about the Hitman franchise, with many of them crystalized in Hitman 3. The stealth/disguise/precision gameplay hits just the right buttons for many players, and for such a serious plot, the game has a surprising amount of humor. Many of the Hitman series' Easter eggs will attest to this last fact.
Hitman 3 is also proving to be a worthy challenge for speedrunners. Each mission relies inherently on properly casing the level and then plotting out a route for a flawless execution, which is what speedrunning is all about. One player has already completed the first mission in 17 seconds, only to be topped by another player beating it in 9 seconds. Where the game will go from here is anyone's guess, but it's off to a great, profitable start.
Hitman 3 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Gameindustry.biz