Hitman Trilogy arrives on Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass

Hitman 3 developer IO Interactive is celebrating the game’s first birthday on Jan. 20 in a big way, starting with the release of Hitman Trilogy, which will debut in the Game Pass library on both Windows PC and Xbox, the studio announced Thursday.

The bundle includes all three games in the World of Assassination trilogy — 2016’s Hitman, 2018’s Hitman 2, and 2021’s Hitman 3 — and it will also be released the same day on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The PC version of the trilogy (and of Hitman 3 itself) will be available via Steam as well as the Epic Games Store, since the game’s one-year exclusivity agreement with the Epic Games Store will end as of Jan. 20. IO did not announce a price for the trilogy; we’ve reached out to the studio to ask, and we’ll update this article with any information we receive.

Hitman 3 is also coming to another new platform on Jan. 20: PC virtual reality. The VR mode has thus far been available exclusively on PlayStation VR, support for which is limited to the PlayStation 4 version of the game. Now, Hitman 3 PC players — whether on Steam or the Epic Games Store — will be able to check out the entire World of Assassination trilogy in VR (if they own the first two games on PC as well as Hitman 3).

In addition to new platforms, Jan. 20 will mark the beginning of Hitman 3’s second year of content. That day, IO will release the first of two new game modes coming in 2022: Elusive Target Arcade. This expands upon the fan-favorite Elusive Target mode by requiring players to take out targets in succession, completing multiple contracts simultaneously and unlocking rewards along the way. The biggest change from the existing version of the mode is that Arcade Contracts will be available permanently, unlike the limited-time events that Elusive Targets are. However, failing any step of an Arcade Contract will result in a 12-hour lockout, so there’s still an element of time gating to the new mode.

This spring, IO will follow up Elusive Target Arcade with a completely new mode called Freelancer. This single-player mode offers an array of campaigns for players to tackle, each of which comprises a series of missions — playable in any order — in which Agent 47 must take down a criminal organization. As a, well, freelancer, 47 isn’t working with the ICA’s support in this mode; his gear isn’t permanent, and between missions, he’ll have to return to his home base to resupply.

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