Hitman is an action-adventure stealth video game that is developed by IO Interactive and is published by Square Enix for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 11 March 2016. It will be the sixth entry in the Hitman video game series. The beta will serve as a prequel to the series.
Players take control of Agent 47, a genetically enhanced, superhuman assassin, travelling to international locations and eliminating contracted targets. As in other games in the series, players are given a large amount of room for creativity in approaching their assassinations. For instance, players may utilise long-ranged rifles to snipe a target from a long distance, or they may decide to assassinate the target at close range by using blade weapons or garrote wire. Players can also use explosives, or disguise the assassination by creating a seemingly accidental death. A common method to approach a mission is to incapacitate other characters and wear their outfits as a disguise, which allows the player to gain access to restricted areas more easily. Actions of the non-playable characters also influence the game. For instance, players can gain more information about the position of their target through listening to a nearby news reporter.
A player's mission performance is rated by factors such as the time taken, number of innocent people killed, number of witnesses or CCTV captures, or whether special equipment was left behind. Bonuses like new gadgets will be awarded to players in accordance to their performance during missions. Some missions are time-limited. If players fail to assassinate the target before the mission expires, or alert the target and allow them to escape, the target will not return. All additional downloadable content after release will be free of charge.
The level-design of the game features a structure similar to that of Hitman: Blood Money, as opposed to the linear structure of Hitman: Absolution. Every level in the game is a small sandbox which can be explored by players. Levels are also larger in Hitman, in which the maps in the game will be "six to seven times larger than the biggest levels in Absolution". Levels accommodate about 300 non-playable characters, with each having different routines and reacting differently to players' actions. The checkpoint system from Absolution has also been dropped. Players can save their game anytime during missions. Contracts mode will also return in Hitman. Players can create scenarios and assign other non-player characters as the assassination targets. These scenarios and targets can be shared with other players. Instinct mode, which was introduced in Absolution, also returns and will be simplified.
