I suck at stealth games, but I'm still amazed by Hitman 3's World of Assassination update

In 2015, developer IO Interactive announced a soft reboot of its cult favorite assassination simulator series Hitman. The promise was to focus more on the emergent, sandbox elements that made the series so compelling to begin with, including adding absurd levels of detail and depth to larger-than-ever-levels. The goal, they said, was to reimagine Hitman as a live experience, ever-growing and ever-evolving. A "world of assassination," they called it.

It's only now—eight years, three full game releases, and a publisher breakup later—that this vision has finally been realized. And it is absolutely stunning.

IO Interactive kicked off 2023 with a bang by announcing the big news that 2021's Hitman 3 is undergoing a name change along with some huge upgrades. Beginning on January 26, 2023, Hitman 3 will be turned into Hitman: World of Assassination across all platforms it has been released on (Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S and Series X).

So what does this name change mean for the game? Well, a lot more content for one. The new World of Assassination game will include all of the levels and content from 2016'2 Hitman, 2018's Hitman 2, and Hitman 3, all wrapped into one title and for a single price. Notably, those previous two titles will subsequently be unlisted from various digital stores, though players who already own them will retain access.

Those who've already spent time with Hitman 3 may remember that most, if not all, of the content from the previous two games was already available in this entry if you owned the previous games. However, unlocking it required an often frustrating import process or purchasing legacy packs. Those setbacks will no longer be necessary.

Both new players who purchase Hitman: World of Assassination and existing players who open it after the update will immediately have access to a whopping twenty-one levels, with two extra locations plus other bonuses available with the "Deluxe Pack" DLC.

But it's not just the amount of content that makes this such a huge positive change. By shifting to a single product, IO Interactive can take advantage of what Hitman has done so well, in terms of growing and changing. There's no longer going to be the need for them to publish another Hitman game in a year or two. They can just keep building on Hitman: World of Assassination indefinitely.

In other words, they're successfully turning Hitman from a series of premium games with extensive DLC into a proper live service game that can continue being updated and improved upon theoretically for years to come. A single hub that the entire community of Hitman fans and players can rally around for elusive target challenges, cosmetic unlocks, special contracts, and more.

The World of Assassination news would be impressive enough on its own, but that's not the only big change coming to Hitman on January 26. That update will also include the release of the game's new Freelancer mode. This ambitious mode turns the established Hitman formula into a deep roguelike, where players will take on campaigns and attempt to carry out a whole series of assassinations in a row without dying.

The funniest part is, I'm not even a dedicated Hitman player. I suck at stealth games, like the headline says! I've messed around with this recent trilogy of Hitman games and enjoyed it, but since I didn't get in at the beginning, I've always been a little intimidated about where to start. I can't help but be impressed and intrigued by World of Assassination, and come January 26, it seems like jumping in to Hitman's deadly world will be easier than ever.