Game:

Hitman (2016)

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This is the third (or fourth) time I've tried to upload this VOD. I'm sure it'll work.

About (per Wikipedia):
Hitman is a 2016 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix. The game, which has six episodes, is the sixth mainline entry in the Hitman franchise, the first installment of the World of Assassination trilogy, and the successor to Hitman: Absolution (2012). The single-player story follows genetically engineered assassin Agent 47 as he goes on a worldwide adventure and solves a mysterious series of seemingly unconnected assassinations. Hitman features a number of large, open-ended sandboxes that Agent 47 can freely explore. The game presents the player with various assassination opportunities, many of which are unconventional. IO Interactive introduced a "live component" to the game with new content being regularly delivered in downloadable form.

Each episode is set in a location: Paris, Sapienza, Marrakech, Bangkok, Colorado and Hokkaido. Square Enix Europe set up a Montréal studio to work on the next Hitman game, but IO Interactive returned to lead the game's development following the under-performance of Absolution. The title was conceived as a reimagining of the franchise as the team attempted to integrate the gameplay of Absolution with the open-endedness of earlier installments of the series. According to the team, Hitman is a puzzle game with action and stealth elements; the developers refined the simulation and artificial intelligence of each level. The game adopted an episodic model and the team envisioned the game as a service. It was marketed as a "World of Assassination" and provided a platform that would expand and evolve over time and inspire a trilogy of games.

It was released episodically for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One from March to October 2016. Upon its release, Hitman received positive reviews; critics praised the game's episodic release format, locations, level design, and its replayability but criticised the always-online requirement and excessive handholding. The game underperformed commercially and caused publisher Square Enix to divest from IO Interactive in May 2017. Following a management buyout, IO retained the rights to the series and partnered with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to produce a sequel titled Hitman 2, which was released in November 2018. The World of Assassination trilogy was concluded with Hitman 3 in January 2021. In January 2023, Hitman was delisted from sales after IO Interactive rebranded Hitman 3 as Hitman: World of Assassination, with the contents of the previous two Hitman games becoming available to Hitman 3 owners, free of charge.

Release format
Originally, the game was to be released in an "intro pack" that would include all of the base content and locations, six-story missions, three sandboxes, forty "signature kills", a contracts mode with 800 targets, and access to regular events held by the developer. New missions and locations set in Thailand, the US, and Japan were to be released after the game's launch, and a full-priced version was to be released following the release of this post-release content. No downloadable content (DLC) was to be released for the game and no microtransactions were to be offered; new missions, locations, and targets were to be regularly added to the game as free post-release updates.

On 14 January 2016, it was announced Hitman would be released in an episodic manner; at its launch, the game would consist of the prologue and Paris missions. New content would be released monthly; this would include the remaining two cities of the main game (Sapienza and Marrakesh) in April and May 2016 respectively, which would be followed by the previously planned Thailand, US, and Japan expansions in late 2016. Weekly events would be held and additional content would be released between the monthly updates. These expansions would be available at no extra cost to purchasers of a full-priced, downloaded copy of the game but purchasers of the "Intro Pack" would buy this extra content separately. According to Seifert, the move was designed to allow the team time to develop the game's levels and to "create a living game that will expand and evolve over time and establish a foundation for the future—this is the first game in a storyline which will continue and expand with future Hitman games".

The episodic release enabled IO Interactive to receive feedback for earlier levels and fix some of the design flaws during the production of later episodes. The positive reaction to Sapienza boosted the team's confidence and encouraged them to continue experimenting with level design by modifying the design principles in later maps, which add new challenges and change players' expectations. The team also believed by periodically releasing episodes, players would be encouraged to replay and master each level, and share their experience with other players while awaiting the next episode.

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