Hitman: Game of the Year Edition coming in November with new four-mission campagin

Hitman players have additional content heading their way next month.

Io Interactive announced earlier this month it would share information regarding new content for Hitman, and today the studio delivered.

A Game of the Year Edition will arrive digitally for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November, alongside a free update for all players and a new four-mission campaign titled Patient Zero.

In the Patient Zero campaign, Agent 47 must stop a global pandemic triggered after the elimination of his target. This contingency plan sends Agent 47 to four different locations as he races against the clock to prevent the virus from spreading.

Each of the four missions were re-worked from the original settings with new gameplay opportunities, disguises, characters, challenges, gameplay mechanics, AI behavior and HUD elements.

Bangkok, Sapienza, Colorado and Hokkaido will each “look and feel completely different,” with a new time of day and new custom music.

Along with Patient Zero, Hitman: Game of the Year Edition includes the complete first season and three suits with themed weapons. Each suit and weapon combo revolves around a respective Escalation Contract.

The new Escalation Contracts come with “new complications based on some new gameplay mechanics.” Each Escalation has its own starting location unique to the Contract. All Escalations are made up of three stages, so “expect the challenge to ramp up quickly,” and one of the Escalations reaches seven targets – a first for the game.

Completing each Escalation Contract will unlock the corresponding weapon to be used in all locations across the entire game.

One of the new suits is Corky the Clown with a new baseball bat. This suit was first made available in Hitman: Blood Money. The other two are the Raven Suit and Sieger 300 Ghost, a ICA variant of the weapon, and the Cowboy suit with a magnum pistol dubbed The Striker. Each weapon features a buff or individual gameplay feature.

Here’s a full rundown of what’s included in Hitman: Game of the Year Edition:

• Hitman: The Complete First Season
• New: ‘Patient Zero’ Campaign
• New: Clown Suit and themed weapon
• New: Raven Suit and themed weapon
• New: Cowboy Suit and themed weapon
• New: 3 themed Escalation Contracts

Elusive Targets will be reactivated on November 7. New players or those who missed any of the Elusive Targets the first time around, will be able to try their hands at the time-limited targets. All of the suit unlocks are back for both new and existing players.

Those who have completed or failed an Elusive Target won’t be able to play that specific contract again. The first Elusive Target will release shortly after the GOTY edition goes live.

Those who currently own Hitman digitally or on disc can pick up Patient Zero as a separate purchase for $19.99 or the regional equivalent. The GOTY Upgrade is also available to anyone who purchased all episodes individually or previously purchased the Intro Pack/Upgrade Pack combination.

Alongside the Patient Zero content, the GOTY Upgrade pack will include the new Escalation Contracts outlined above.

As mentioned at the top of the post, when the GOTY edition hits, a free game update will also be made available for current players. Complete details will be provided at a later date, but below are some highlights straight from Io Interactive:

• A redesigned UI with a new color scheme and visual style: A fresh new look across the board and re-organised menus to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.

• New Contracts Mode features: ‘Trending’ helps you find the most popular contracts, making sure you can easily find a new challenge. We’re also adding 10 ‘Conditions’ that will add huge depth to Contracts Mode, such as restricting disguise changes or requiring players to use a specific exit. Anyone who creates a contract will be able to toggle these conditions to set a more defined challenge for their contract.

• Major lighting improvements to all missions: New color grading, readjusted HDR adaptation rules and re-designed skyboxes mean that our locations look more vivid, vibrant and lifelike.

• Commemorative Elusive Target Unlock: If you played any of the Elusive Targets we released during Season One, we’re giving you an in-game coin to commemorate your progress and thank you for your support.

• Xbox One X Enhancements: A whole host of enhancements are on the way for Xbox One X owners, including options for native 4K and a higher framerate. Specific details to come in a Xbox-specific blog post.

• Tobii Eye Tracking support for PC: Enhance your killer instincts with Dynamic Light Adaptation, Extended View and a new special feature added specifically for HITMAN. Find more details here.

• Various fixes and improvements: Full release notes will be published closer to 7 November. That should be enough time to start thinking about your default loadout for each location.

Hitman: Game of the Year Edition will available digitally for $60 on November 7.

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