It's a big day for splendid sandbox stealth stabber Hitman 3, now entering its second year of content and support. The developers, Io Interactive are going hard out the gate by adding the new Elusive Target Arcade mode and bringing VR support to PC. It's also ending Epic exclusivity today, hitting not only Steam but Game Pass too, with the full trilogy coming to Microsoft's subscription service. Busy busy.

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Launch day log in issues aren’t a thing I’d expect to hear about surrounding a single player stealth romp but hey, it’s 2021. There are no rules. Hitman 3 is out today and it seems that the website meant to import your prior hitmaning progress into the newest murder fest is having a bit of a struggle. That wouldn’t be so bad, except waiting to make that import is effectively keeping players from starting in on Hitman 3. Io Interactive say they’re on the case.

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Ian Hitman’s current trilogy of sandbox stealth-o-murder games wraps up today with Hitman 3, which launched just a few minutes ago. As he fights a vast conspiracy, he’ll do murders in new levels everywhere from England to Dubai, and get into a few of his trademark daft situations. One mission is just a murder mystery potentially starring Ian, an actual murderer, as the detective. Unfortunately, the promised ability for owners of the previous two games to connect and play them inside 3 is delayed.

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Last week, IO Interactive said players would need to own Hitman 2 on the Epic Games Store if they wanted to import its levels to Hitman 3. That was pretty rubbish – for owners of the game on Steam, it meant you either couldn’t have those levels, or you’d need to buy it again. Thankfully, IO are looking for a solution, and guarantee players won’t need to rebuy the game after all.

“We are continuing to work with our partners to allow PC players who own Hitman 1 or Hitman 2 to import locations from those games at no additional cost,” they said on Sunday.

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Hitman 3

will no longer offer the ability to import levels from Hitman 2 when it launches later this month, unless players re-purchase Hitman 2 on the Epic Games Store first. Near the bottom of a long and complicated pre-launch guide, developers IO Interactive said the change in plans was “due to various circumstances out of our control.” Hitman 1 and 2 were both released on Steam, while Hitman 3 is launching as an Epic Games Store exclusive.

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Hitman: Codename 47

was released 20 years ago today. In all that time, IO Interactive have crafted an entertaining seven-game series (not including spin-offs), with the eighth aiming for the heart in January 2021. The subject matter might be grim, but from the very first game, IO Interactive were always happy to fold information and easter eggs into their immersive sim (don’t @ me) to a ridiculous degree. The games all have murderdeathkills, but they also have hauntings, mythical creatures, and real-world actors as targets.

I’ve had a blast digging up some forgotten facts and 47’s more bizarre moments (this does mean this list contains some spoilers, so beware). There are so many that this could have been 200 facts for 20 years, but I stuck with 20. It seemed right. Enjoy!

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Ultrawide gaming monitors are the kind of hardware that might seem too excessive, maybe even a bit too gamer> to bother with for playing games on PC, especially when their demanding resolutions often require powerful graphics cards to make the most of them. Once you try one, though, there’s no going back. I’ve been a big fan of ultrawide gaming monitors for years now, mostly because supported PC games just look fantastic on them. And that’s why I’ve put together this list of the best ultrawide games on PC – to show you exactly what they look like in the flesh, complete with GIFs and photos of them running on an ultrawide monitor so you can see them in motion with your own peepers.

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Two different illicit gig economy experiences are yours for free this week on the Epic Games Store, which is currently giving away 2016’s stealth assassination game Hitman and a collection of the Shadowrun cyberpunk fantasy RPGs. Sure, basically you’re being paid to kill and rob people in both, but you’ll go about it in different ways.

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Polish that chrome-dome, 47. It’s time for your final mission. Announced during Sony’s big ol’ PlayStation 5 reveal stream, Hitman 3 is gearing up for one last trilogy-ending job next January on Sony’s next-gen tellybox as well as PC and Xbox. True to form, our first look at Hitman 3 was an elusive one. A dark forest, sharp suits, high-society, and portrait of the high-collared hairless killer himself.

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Wow. Look at that summer sun slapping the face of the planet, like a big 12-hour camera flash. So hot, so clear-skied. A blessed day of walks in the park, trips to the beach, picnics by the litter bins. What a glorious day for wasps it is out there. Let’s all go to the…

Oh right. Forget I said anything. Go back inside, lock the doors, and consider some of these perfect virtual holiday destinations. Please, trust us with your fake vacation. After all, what is a games journalist but a sort of really dodgy travel agent?

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