Hitman 3 will now include the first 2 entries, free for existing owners

IO Interactive set out to create the "World of Assassination" with its latest Hitman trilogy, and now it's taken another big step towards realizing that vision. Hitman 3 will now only include maps from the base versions of Hitman and Hitman 2 from 2016 in a single purchase starting January 26, 2023. Current owners of Hitman 3 will receive these maps for free.

< p>IO explained this transition on its website. Starting January 26, Hitman 3 will transition seamlessly to Hitman: World of Assassination, which includes the last three Hitman games in a single bundle for $69.99 (and is, again, also free for those who own the basic version of Hitman 3).

There will also be a deluxe edition upgrade for $29.99 which also includes the Hitman 2 DLC maps, both sniper maps, the 7 Deadly Sins DLC of Hitman 3, and six deluxe escalations, contracts, and challenges. The standalone versions of 2016's Hitman and Hitman 2 will also no longer be purchasable, but they will remain downloadable for those who already have them.

It's much simpler than the existing system that has all sorts of passes for every game and platform, which can be intimidating or confusing for users. While it was possible to import past purchases into Hitman 3, it was a complicated system. IO cited this as a reason to move everything under one streamlined roof, saying it wanted "the experience for new players to be simple and concrete."