The latest incarnation of HITMAN will only be sold as a complete first season moving forward according to an announcement from developer Io-Interactive.
Roughly two weeks from today, the purchase options for HITMAN will be changing. The "Intro Pack" and "Upgrade Pack" will no longer be able to be purchased, and the default purchase option will shift to "The Complete First Season". For the moment, you can still purchase the individual episodes and bonus content individually on stores such as Steam.
Existing customers may only own a portion of the game and Io-Interactive has a plan in place for each platform: Customers who have purchased the game on Steam can buy The Complete First Season and will automatically have the price calculated so that they only pay for whichever episodes they're missing, but individual episodes will no longer be available to buy. Xbox One customers can buy The Complete First Season at a price minus the cost of the Intro Pack and individual episodes can still be purchased. Finally, PlayStation 4 gamers can get The Complete First Season at its standard price and buy individual episodes as they see fit.
These changes will not be affecting anyone who already owns The Complete First Season digitally or as a physical copy. Essentially, two packages are being removed from all storefronts, and the prices and ability to buy individual episodes are changing in different ways depending on the platform. IO Interactive has set up a question & answer thread on the HITMAN subreddit and advises anyone with questions or concerns to direct their comments there.
This comes in the wake of Square Enix stating that they are planning on selling Io-Interactive and that they are open to selling Hitman with the developer. Additionally, in the announcement, Io-Interactive says they are laying the foundation for the future with this change, hinting at the addition of more content to the game.
What do you think of the removal of an episodic model for HITMAN now that the game is complete? Do you think that episodic games should retain the ability to purchase individual episodes after the game is complete, or is it not all that important to you? What did you think of the latest HITMAN game? Let us know in the comments below!
