IO Interactive described how levels and progress will be carried over to Hitman 3 from previous games in a complicated FAQ on their website today, and it’s a mess for PC gamers, apparently thanks to the Epic Games Store and Steam for not playing well with each other.
On the console, things are pretty straightforward. Players who already own Hitman 1 and two on PS4 or Xbox One will be able to transport your progress to the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Hitman 3 respectively, as well as rescuing the two sets of levels as DLC in the new game. But on the PC, things are not so simple.
“We did everything possible to make this process smooth and player friendly”, IO Interactive wrote in his pre-release post today. “However, due to a number of circumstances beyond our control, we want to recognize that the process is different from our initial plans for PC players.”
Who buys Hitman 3 within the first 10 days of its launch at the Epic Games Store, where it is currently an exclusive program, you will automatically have access to Hitman 1, which is also available for purchase separately from the Epic Games Store as a DLC. Yet, Hitman 2, which is currently not sold on the Epic Games Store, will need to be purchased again as a DLC for PC players to access these levels, even if they already have the game on Steam.
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“Like Hitman 2 not available at EGS, we have set an 80% discount for this access pass for the first 14 days after Hitman 3’s launch, ”wrote IO Interactive. “It will also allow access to the Hitman 2 expansion access pass. ”In other words, the studio will give PC players who need to repurchase Hitman 2 a big discount to unlock the content at Hitman 3 in the first few weeks, although it is unclear exactly how much they will still have to pay.
As you can expect, a long time ago Hitman players in the game subreddit are upset, in part because IO Interactive itself had previously stated that existing owners would be able to play all of their favorite Hitman levels in one place at no extra cost.
“[W]We are pleased to confirm that PC players will be able to continue their current progression and unlock from Hitman 2 on Steam for Hitman 3 at the Epic Games Store, ”the studio wrote last August. “It will also be possible for PC players to import locations from the previous two games into Hitman 3 at the Epic Games Store. We want to make it a perfect process for our PC players to enjoy Hitman 3 on a different PC platform and continue to enjoy the benefits of our Murder World. “
Obviously, something changed in the following months, although it is not exactly clear what. Epic and IO Interactive did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Like Hitman 3 it will only be an exclusive Epic Games Store for 12 months, an option that players have is to simply wait until it reaches Steam. The other is simply to pay the cost with purchase discount Hitman 2 again. Both are horrible.