If you’ve been anxiously waiting to plan and execute assassinations as Agent 47 this December, then you’re going to have to wait a bit longer. Developer IO Interactive has stated that its highly anticipated Hitman game has been delayed to March of 2016. Here is what IO Interactive posted on its blog about the matter:
“Moving a launch date is never an easy decision, we know it’s frustrating to have to wait a bit longer for the game, but we truly believe it will mean we can deliver a better launch and overall experience. We’ll share more details next week about the full release schedule and scope of Hitman in general so keep a look out for that.”
Hitman was originally planned to release with 10 or so missions, or levels, at the beginning of December this year, following a new digital only business tactic. As the focus of Hitman has gone back to the origins of Blood Money, the game is more so about completing levels in a variety of ways, rather than completing a story campaign, like Hitman: Absolution. IO has detailed that the push to March is partially due to the original 10 levels needing more polishing. However, IO also wanted to release expansions within shorter ranges of time, rather than making consumers wait months before new missions are released. Thus, a physical copy of Hitman, including all missions, could be released earlier than we originally thought.
Here are the exact words of IO Interactive, as seen on its blog:
“These few extra months will mean we can add more to the launch content of the game, more than we had originally planned, and then follow with a tighter frequency of updates, which ultimately will create a better game for everyone. And in the end, that’s what we’re all looking for.”
This seems like a bold move, considering how it will remove all possibility of holiday revenue, but then again, recent delays in games have allowed opportunity for much needed fixes and additions. Nevertheless, all we can do for now is wait, and hope that IO and Square Enix know what they’re doing, for the benefit of themselves and for the benefit of the average consumer.
Tristan was a regular ICXM contributor between 2015–2017, publishing 51 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @tbogost.