HITMAN

	Digital Release	PC March 11, 2016 – Steam August 27, 2020 – Epic Games September 22, 2021 – GOG.com (as GOTY) PlayStation 4, Xbox One March 11, 2016 (AU, EU, NA) July 20, 2017 (JP) Google Stadia September 01, 2020
	Delisting	October 08, 2021 – GOG.com January 18, 2023 – Stadia Shutdown January 26, 2023 – Remaining Platforms
	Developer	IO Interactive
	Publisher	Square Enix Warner Bros. Interactive (Retail) IO Interactive (Epic Games, GOG.com, Stadia)
	Available On	Digital Download codes may still be redeemable Some content & features available in HITMAN: World of Assassination Retail PlayStation 4 (Amazon, eBay) Xbox One (Amazon, eBay)
	Links	Hitman homepage SteamDB page

Delisting

The GOG.com release of HITMAN: Game of the Year Edition was delisted on October 8th, 2021 after just 17 days on sale. Fans of the DRM-free storefront lobbied their complaints about the game’s always-online requirements and GOG chose to remove it from sale. Their wording at the time suggested that the delisting could be temporary but as of June 2024 the game has yet to reappear in any form.

Thank you for your patience and for giving us the time to investigate the release of HITMAN GOTY on GOG. As promised, we’re getting back to you with updates.

We’re still in dialogue with IO Interactive about this release. Today we have removed HITMAN GOTY from GOG’s catalog – we shouldn’t have released it in its current form, as you’ve pointed out.

We’d like to apologise for the confusion and anger generated by this situation. We’ve let you down and we’d like to thank you for bringing this topic to us – while it was honest to the bone, it shows how passionate you are towards GOG.

We appreciate your feedback and will continue our efforts to improve our communication with you.

GOG.com Announcement – October 08, 2021

HITMAN, HITMAN 2, and HITMAN 3 then became unavailable on Google Stadia on January 18th, 2023 when Google shut down that platform. Ahead of this deadline IO Interactive announced on December 15th, 2022 that a “carryover service” would allow current Stadia players to migrate their progression through their IOI Account into other versions of the games. The window for this service was available between January 11th and February 16th, 2023.

Shortly after, IO Interactive announced on January 3rd, 2023 that the standalone releases of HITMAN and HITMAN 2 would soon be removed from sale and much of their content rolled into HITMAN 3. HITMAN 3 itself  would then be rebranded as HITMAN: World of Assassination beginning on January 26th, 2023.

In 2015, we shared our vision for the World of Assassination; an ever-expanding game that would evolve over time and be the foundation for future HITMAN games. Those were the exact words we used and a central promise to how we’ve released the three games in the 7 years that followed.

Today, we’re excited to announce some upcoming changes to how our players (both existing and new) will experience, access and purchase HITMAN 1, HITMAN 2 and HITMAN 3. These changes will make it easier than ever to enter and enjoy the World of Assassination – and finally allow us to realise the vision we set out to achieve.

As of 26 January 2023, the following changes are planned to come into effect.

• HITMAN 3 will become ‘HITMAN World of Assassination’, which will also include access to HITMAN 1 and HITMAN 2 through our existing Access Pass system. Current HITMAN 3 owners will get a free upgrade to HITMAN World of Assassination on all platforms.

• We’re drastically simplifying the purchase experience for new players. HITMAN World of Assassination will be the single available option to start playing.

Essentially, these two changes will mean that all new players and existing HITMAN 3 owners will have the same base content ownership. There will be no more confusion over which edition to buy, what content you own, how to redeem Legacy packs or import locations, etc. We’re done with that.

IO News Post – January 03, 2023

Due to the fragmented availability of the three titles’ content thanks to the involvement of both Square Enix and Warner Bros. as publishers, IO Interactive would also reveal a means to “complete the set” alongside the above announcement. The plan being to offer owners of existing titles a means to get some of the missing content at a discounted price as the individual games were being delisted and consolidated under the World of Assassination rebranding.

On Steam, we are going to implement ‘complete the set’ functionality for the three DLC packs included in the HITMAN World of Assassination Deluxe Pack (H3 Deluxe Pack, H3 Seven Deadly Sins Collection and H2 Expansion Access Pass). This will mean you only pay an even split for whatever content you don’t own. For example, if you own 2 of the DLCs, you’ll only pay $10 for the remaining DLC, rather than having to pay full price for the full Deluxe Pack.

On other platforms, we’ve added each individual DLC from the new WoA Deluxe Pack (H3 Deluxe Pack, H3 Seven Deadly Sins Collection and H2 Expansion Access Pass) to the IN-GAME store, again priced with an even split ($10 USD each). If you own some (but not all) of that content, you’ll be able to buy whatever you’re missing – at a new and reduced price.

An important detail that we want to be clear about amongst these changes, is that we’re removing the standalone HITMAN 1 and HITMAN 2 products from sale on all platforms. If you already own these games, you’ll still be able to access them in the exact same way that you do today. Of course, the majority of the content included in these games remains playable through HITMAN World of Assassination, with all of the improvements that were introduced with HITMAN 3.

On that note, and for extra clarity, HITMAN 3 will remain available in its current standalone form through the upcoming ‘HITMAN – World of Assassination’.

IO News Post – January 03, 2023

This final point about HITMAN 3 led to a lingering period where storefront listings still labeled the game as ‘HITMAN 3’ but the in-game branding was changed to ‘World of Assassination’. As an example, the game’s page on Steam remained as ‘HITMAN 3’ until early April of 2024. In another peculiar case, the World of Assassination edition is only accessible on Nintendo Switch by first downloading the free HITMAN 3: Cloud Version. Users must then play the intro to HITMAN 3 long enough to enable the purchase of the World of Assassination upgrade.

As for the remaining physical releases of HITMAN and HITMAN 2, discussions in various online forums suggest that they remain playable on their own but with some missing content and features. For instance, IO announced in 2020 that HITMAN 2’s Ghost Mode would be retired on August 31st of that year. The studio then announced in August that co-op servers for the game’s Sniper Assassin mode would be shut down before the release of HITMAN 3. Access Passes for HITMAN 2 that provided content from the original HITMAN have also since been removed. The exclusive PlayStation 4 contracts known as the “Sarajevo Six” were originally locked to HITMAN but have since been added to HITMAN 3 and World of Assassination.

Also regarding the physical releases, the ability to import unlocked content from HITMAN and HITMAN 2 into HITMAN: World of Assassination ended with the rebranding launch on January 26th, 2023. Although physical discs may remain available and their content accessible — with some reports that DLC can even still be purchased from within them — they can no longer be brought over to World of Assassination and have to be purchased separately there. The “complete the set” discounts have also since ended.

A digital-only Hitman Trilogy bundle was available starting January 20th, 2022 for PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Game Pass, Steam and the Epic Games Store. It included the base games of HITMAN, HITMAN 2, and HITMAN 3 but also offered a Premium Add-on Bundle which similarly can no longer be brought forward into World of Assassination. The Hitman Trilogy bundle was then replaced by HITMAN: World of Assassination, likely on or near the January 26th, 2023 rebranding.

Finally, and maybe most peculiarly of all, a HITMAN 2 bundle remains available digitally on Xbox One as of June 2024. The release is dated February 4th, 2019 with Warner Bros. Interactive as the publisher and does not appear in site searches on Xbox.com. The bundle includes seven pieces of add-on content and even frequently goes on sale. It seems that this listing was somehow missed in the purge of HITMAN titles and is expected to one day be removed as well.

About the Game

Welcome to the World of Assassination. Become the ultimate professional assassin in HITMAN. As Agent 47, an agent of the International Contract Agency, you perform contract hits on high profile targets alongside your long-time handler Diana Burn wood. 

You kill for money and you do not fail. No one is safe. When Agent 47 takes out the leader of an enigmatic spy ring in Paris, it sparks a chain of events that will not only shift the balance of global power but also take the world’s top assassin on a journey into his forgotten past. HITMAN offers players the chance to visit a wide range of world locations, from fashionable Paris to the sunny coast of Italy and the hustle of the markets in Marrakesh. 

Freely explore the dynamic, checkpoint-free environments and watch as your actions affect everyone around you. This is your playground. The world of HITMAN will constantly challenge you. Whether it’s from the hundreds of in-mission challenges or from the expansive community created contracts, you will never run out of things to do. Become the best. Eliminate the worst.

• The Ultimate Hitman Experience: Become a professional assassin and complete contracts through espionage, infiltration & disguise
• Enter an Assassin’s Sandbox: Dynamic, living sandbox style missions keep the action fresh and unique; Contracts expand with time-exclusive contracts and community competitions
• Contracts 2.0: Bigger, richer, deeper Put a hit on a target and challenge your friends in an asynchronous competition to become the best in this expanded mode