[Updated] Hitman 3 PC Players Won't Have to Pay Again for Hitman 2 Levels After All

Carrying over your Hitman 2 progress into Hitman 3 on PC is needlessly confusing, and costly to play those levels


Published: January 15, 2021 12:23 PM /

By:


Hitman 3

[1/18/21 - 9:05 AM]

IO Interactive and Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games, have both confirmed that PC players will not be required to pay in order to import locations from Hitman 1 and 2 into Hitman 3. Here's the full announcement from IO:

It started when Tim Sweeney tweeted on January 16th said that it was "never Epic's intent to create a situation where someone who owns a game on Steam would have to buy it again on the Epic Games Store." IO Interactive then came out with their aforementioned statement on the 17th, which means they came to an agreement fairly quickly.

Original story below:


Hitman 3's pre-launch guide was revealed recently, and what stuck out the most was how needlessly complex bringing Hitman 2's content to Hitman 3 is on PC. It's not all bad though, as after completing the carryover progress from Hitman 2 to 3, "players will be able to start HITMAN 3 with their existing player profile, XP rank, location mastery levels, location mastery unlocks, challenge progress, challenge unlocks and Elusive Target suits/unlocks." Players will not be able to pick and choose what they want to bring over. In their words, it's "all or nothing". Still, it's not all bad news, as progression can be carried over quite easily. Let's go over that first:

How do I bring over my Hitman 2 progression?

  • Progression can only be carried over from Hitman 2, which includes progression from the Legacy Pack (Hitman 1 locations in Hitman 2).
  • Progression can only be carried over from within the same platform:
    • Hitman 2 (PlayStation 4, PS4 Pro, and PS5) → Hitman 3 (PlayStation 4, PS4 Pro, and PS5)
      Hitman 2 (Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X) → Hitman 3 (Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X)
      Hitman 2(PC/Steam) → Hitman 3 (PC/Epic)
  • While it doesn't matter which specific console progression has been earned on, progression can only move forward within the same console family.
  • Progression is a one-time process, so once it's been completed you cannot do it again later.
  • While you can still play Hitman 2, any progress you make in Hitman 2 after the carryover will not be synchronized between Hitman 2 and 3.
  • If you start Hitman 3 and then decide to carry over your progress from Hitman 2, you will lose your progress in Hitman 3.

Why is the PC Access Pass for Hitman 3 a big deal?

Because it's needlessly convoluted. With Hitman 1 and 2 essentially DLC for Hitman 3, players need to download an Access Pass to access the content. If you're on a console, it's easy: it'll detect you already have Hitman 2 installed and you'll get the Access Patch at no additional cost. 

With Hitman 3 not on the Steam Store, things get a little dicier. For PC, if they have pre-purchased or purchased Hitman 3 within the first 10 days of launch on the Epic Games Store, they'll be given the Hitman GOTY Access Pass at no additional cost. Also, if you own Hitman - The Complete First Season on the Epic Games Store when it was available for free, you will be able to download the Access Patch at any time after purchasing Hitman 3. Hitman 2 isn't even available on the Epic Game Store, so if even you own Hitman 2 on Steam you'll need to buy it if you want to play those levels in the updated Hitman 3 version. That said, there's an 80% discount "for the first 14 days after Hitman 3's launch" if you are willing to pay to play Hitman 2 in Hitman 3 on PC. What a mess.

Basically, instead of making it available on Steam and having a simple upgrade path, PC Hitman fans have to jump through additional hoops. Not cool.

Hitman 3 Switch Release Date Revealed

Hitman 3: Cloud Version is also coming to the Nintendo Switch on January 20. It's only playable via cloud streaming, which is interesting.

If you would like to read over the entire pre-launch guide, be sure to check it out here.

What do you think of this news? Are you going to be playing the latest Hitman title? Let us know in the comments!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


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| Staff Writer

Patrick is a former Staff Writer for TechRaptor and has been gaming on every console he could get since he could hold a controller. He’s been writing for… More about Patrick

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Hitman 3
Game Page Hitman 3
Developer
IO Interactive
Publisher
IO Interactive
Release Date
January 20, 2021 (Calendar)
Genre
Stealth
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