Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and IO Interactive have announced a worldwide publishing and distributing agreement for Hitman. The episodic stealth action game was previously published by Square Enix. It contained six episodes in total, which were originally released on a monthly basis starting from March 2016 to October 2016. The complete first season was finally released in January 2017.
According to the press release, the first and only confirmed Hitman game to be published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment will be the upcoming Hitman: Definitive Edition. It will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 15th, 2018. The game’s Definitive Edition will feature new in-game disguises for Agent 47 inspired by classic IO Interactive titles such as Freedom Fighters, Kane & Lynch, and Mini Ninjas, with the purpose of celebrating the Danish studio’s 20th anniversary.
Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment President David Haddad said: “We’re very excited to be working with IO Interactive, a talented studio with a long-standing legacy creating the iconic HITMAN games. The passionate, global HITMAN community has embraced the recent return of the series, and we’re thrilled to bring the HITMAN: Definitive Edition to fans and new players next month.”
Additionally, the Hitman: Definitive Edition will include all the previously released content and updates for the complete first season. This includes the Game of the Year Edition content, which features new missions, suits, and weapons, as well as the Hitman Summer Bonus Episode and the Hitman: Blood Money Requiem Pack, which contains the Requiem Suit, Pale Duck Explosive, and ICA Chrome Pistol.
IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak said: “We’re super excited to be working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on HITMAN and together releasing the HITMAN: Definitive Edition to new players. Working with a partner like WBIE means that the team at IOI can stay focused on what we’re good at, making games.”
There’s no word yet on whether Warner Bros IE and IO Interactive will be developing new Hitman games in the future, nor is there any mention of a new Hitman game currently in development. We reported last year that previous Hitman publisher Square Enix had cut ties with IO Interactive in May 2017. A month later in June 2017, IO Interactive announced going independent and maintaining control of the Hitman IP.
