Surprise! Square-Enix has announced that their latest Hitman game will be released as six episodes over the course of 2016. Previously, the game was going to receive a more traditional launch.
In a clever twist on episodic gaming, each new chapter of Hitman will give you access to a new open-world location, featuring a variety of missions and targets to tackle. The first episode will include a prologue and Paris, and further episodes will unlock Italy, Morocco, Thailand, the United States and Japan. The first episode will launch on March 11, followed by Italy in April and Morocco in May. The rest of the episodes don’t have specific release dates yet. The first episode will cost $15, and all additional episodes will cost $10, although you can buy them all at the slightly discounted price of $60.
Hitman developer Io Interactive explained the move to an episodic format…
“We decided to take the full leap and publish Hitman as a truly episodic game experience. Part of that decision is for that little bit of extra time to ensure every location we release is at the quality level fitting for a Hitman game. But the main driving reason is that this will allow us to create a living game that will expand and evolve over time and establish a foundation for the future — this is the first game in a storyline which will continue and expand with future Hitman games.”
Hitman publisher Square-Enix definitely seems to be all about the episodic model lately. They recently scored a surprise hit with Life Is Strange, are doing the episodic thing with Final Fantasy VII, and now they’re chopping up Hitman. I would not be at all surprised if more Square-Enix properties go this route in the future. An episodic Tomb Raider would make a lot of sense, and they could potentially use the approach to revive one of their more obscure RPG properties. What do you folks think? Is Hitman and other Square-Enix games going episodic a good thing, or do you prefer more traditional releases?
(Via Polygon)