Hitman 3 is a video game that likely many people are looking forward to, as it will put an end to the trilogy which began in 2016. And it looks like Danish developer IO Interactive is pulling out all the stops to make sure this will be a memorable conclusion of the “World of Assassination” trilogy.
IO Interactive has already shown off one of Hitman 3’s locations: a skyscraper in Dubai, which sure looked stunning in the game’s trailers. It likely reminded people of Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol movie – exploring this location in IO’s upcoming game will likely be a ton of fun for Hitman fans and those new to the series too.
Dubai looks like it could be one of the series’ most interesting locations, and now as Hitman 3’s release date draws closer, IO Interactive has revealed yet another location for the game.
Chongqing is a transportation hub in China which protagonist Agent 47 will be visiting at some point in the game, most likely to put a bullet in the head of some high-profile criminal or nefarious businessman… As is usual in the Hitman series, the game will encourage players to walk “off the beaten path” and see what they can find, as IO points out on its website (via geektyrant.com).
“The rainy, neon-lit streets of Chongqing are full of shops and food stands, all crammed into narrow alleys and passageways – with plenty of secrets hidden off the beaten path. This Chinese transportation hub is the perfect destination for us to showcase just some of the refinements and improvements coming to the technology that powers HITMAN 3”.
Regarding the game’s technological improvements, IO points out how “lighting, reflections, animation and AI” will be enhanced for this outing. The game’s new water effects will allow “details such as rain drops hitting Agent 47 and his clothes getting wet” to be seen in the game, further enhancing immersion.
IO is also pushing the boundaries when it comes to the number of NPCs (non-player characters) in its locations. While in Hitman 2’s Miami stage lots of NPCs could be seen onscreen at once, Hitman 3 will feature more than 300 AI-driven NPCs in its Dubai location, which is surely impressive, and could offer tons of gameplay possibilities for players. Actually, IO already said that Hitman 3 would be a “big leap forward for our technology” when discussing the PS5 version of the game back in August.
The trailer below gives an idea of what to expect from Hitman 3’s Chongqing location. And hopefully this will be as memorable as other Far East locations seen in the trilogy, such as Hitman’s Hokkaido hospital, one of the most memorable stages in the 2016 game.
IO also points out how locations can be imported from the last two games in the trilogy (2016’s Hitman and Hitman 2) meaning players could have more than 20 locations available to play in Hitman 3. The thing is, it’s not clear how this will work for PC gamers, as the last two Hitman games came out on Steam, while Hitman 3 will be an Epic Games Store exclusive for a year. Maybe IO will clarify the matter at some point in the future.
Also worthy of note is the fact that the game will run at 4K resolution on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The game will also be hitting the PS4, Xbox One and PC on January 20, 2021 next year. It will also be available to play on Nintendo Switch via cloud streaming.
Read more: Hitman 3: release date, gameplay trailer and PC system requirements