When Hitman 3 launches in January, it will see the return of several fan-favorite modes, but it will also not include a mode which was brand-new in 2018's Hitman 2.
IO Interactive detailed the many game modes which will return to the series with next year's conclusion to Agent 47's "World of Assassination" soft reboot. Chief among them is the campaign, of course, which will take the barcoded anti-hero globetrotting for one more effort as he and his allies uncover the final few stones in a field of boulderous mysteries, murder, and political espionage.
For fans of Elusive Targets, the team says changes are coming to the mode this year, but they're not yet ready to reveal what those will be. As we remember them, Elusive Targets are the one-off assassination missions which act as Hitman's live events. You can join and try to take out your target, but if you're late, or if you fail your first try, that's it. They'll get away - and you'll lose the exclusive rewards. We're eager to see what kind of changes IO may bring to the formula in 2021.
Escalations and Contracts will both return as well. The former sees players repeatedly take on missions with increasingly difficult stipulations, while the latter is the game's ever-popular create-a-mission mode which allows the booming Hitman community to share their missions with others.
Sniper Assassin is coming back too, which gives players a totally different kind of mission. What started as a pre-order bonus nearly a decade ago has become an expected mode time after time with latter entries in the series. Players will perch as Agent 47 far across from a figurative ant farm of targets. The rest should be obvious.
All of that leaves Ghost Mode, and as we alluded to, it's not returning. IO said the team has learned "a hell of a lot" to apply to future attempts to incorporate multiplayer into Hitman, but for now, players can't expect anything like it in Hitman 3. Servers for Hitman 2's Ghost Mode will be taken down on the last day of this month.
Hitman 3 launches in January.
