HITMAN GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION arrives next week on November 7th and we’re ready to detail the release notes of what’s included.

This awesome package includes The Complete First Season, the brand new ‘Patient Zero’ campaign, new Escalation Contracts, new weapons, new suits, new challenges, improvements to existing features and new lighting enhancements to all locations that make the game look better than ever – plus we have a few more surprises!

HITMAN – GOTY Release Timings

HITMAN – Game of the Year Edition releases worldwide across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC on November 7th 2017.

Server maintenance starts at 11am UTC on November 7th and is expected to last until 3pm UTC on November 7th. During the maintenance period, all players will receive the GOTY Game Update/Patch. The update size will be approximately 4-5GB, depending on platform and will update the game version to 1.13.0.

HITMAN GOTY Edition and the GOTY Upgrade will be available for purchase starting from 12pm UTC on November 7th for PC, Xbox One and PS4 EU. For PS4 players in the US, the GOTY Edition and GOTY Upgrade will be available for purchase at 3pm UTC, or 8am PST.

It may take some time for the items to appear in the stores. If the items appear on the digital stores before the expected release times mentioned above, you will be able to purchase the GOTY content but you will be unable to launch the content until you have successfully installed the 1.13.0 update of the game. Please make sure you have updated your game to version 1.13.0 before attempting to play the new content.

We will post updates throughout the day about maintenance and availability to our Twitter account: @IOInteractive

 

HITMAN – GOTY Content Overview (New Content)

• New Campaign: Patient Zero
  • 4 new missions: The Source, The Author, The Vector, Patient Zero 
  • After the routine elimination of a target, a contingency plan to unleash a global pandemic is triggered and Agent 47 must race against the clock to prevent a virus from spreading. This four-mission campaign spans different locations in the game, each one re-worked from the original settings with new gameplay opportunities, disguises, characters, challenges, gameplay mechanics, AI behaviour and HUD elements. Due to the dynamic nature of the Patient Zero missions, they are not available for Contract creation.

• 3 New Escalation Contracts
  • The Cheveyo Calibration (Marrakesh by night), The Corky Commotion (Paris), The Dexter Discordance (Hokkaido)
  • We’ve created a new Escalation Contract for each new weapon/suit combination with some brand new complications based on new gameplay mechanics. We’ve themed these new features with each suit to make for some unique experiences. All of the Escalations are made up of 3-stages, so expect the challenge to ramp up quickly and completing each one will unlock the corresponding weapon to be used in all locations across the entire game.
• 3 New Weapons
  • A New Bat – Corky the Clown’s signature weapon that triggers custom sound and visual effects every time it is used.
  • Sieger 300 Ghost –  an all-black sniper rifle with a supressor, 4x zoom and the Marksman perk, which allows you to improve your aim and slow time.
  • Striker – a magnum pistol with increased damage at all ranges, knocks back targets and has piercing rounds.
• 3 New Outfits
  • Clown – Corky the Clown is back! This fan-favourite from Blood Money returns in HITMAN and his red wig, colourful socks and giant shoes look better than ever!
  • Cowboy – The Cowboy suit comes complete with a beautiful set of albino alligator boots, sunglasses and a cowboy hat as pure as Colorado snow.
  • Raven – The perfect choice for Agent 47’s sniper operations, the Raven Suit is black and charcoal with the finest gloves and pockets for every tool.
• 40+ Patient Zero-specific challenges

 

Reminder: There are two options for getting all of this new content, depending on what you already own.

New Players: HITMAN – GOTY Edition will be available digitally for $60. That includes The Complete First Season plus all of our new GOTY content.

Existing Players: If you already own The Complete First Season, either digitally or on disc, the ‘GOTY Upgrade’ includes all of the new GOTY content and will be available digitally for $20.
(The $20 GOTY Upgrade is also available to anyone who purchased all episodes individually or previously purchased the Intro Pack/Upgrade Pack combination.)

Please note that on November 7th, The Complete First Season will no longer be available for purchase digitally and will be replaced by the GOTY Edition as the default offering for new HITMAN players. We’ve made this change in order to further simplify the purchasing options now that all of the content for Season One has been released. Individual episodes will remain available for purchase in-game on consoles – and on Steam via the bundle set-up.

Update: Individual episodes are no longer available for individual purchase on consoles. We’ve made this change to drastically simplify the purchasing options for existing console players that do not own all episodes. With this change, console players that do not own all episodes should purchase one of the “GOTY Upgrade” options via the in-game store tab. We’ve made some behind-the-scenes changes to these options to make sure all players can access the correct upgrade options, based on whether they own the digital or disc version of the game.

This approach makes it much easier to understand what is needed to upgrade to the GOTY Edition from many different constellations of owned episodes. If you need more guidance, please refer to this guide on the fan-run Hitman Forum.

The Steam bundle set-up remains unchanged. For clarity, the options for new players and existing players (who own all episodes through the Complete First Season) also remain unchanged.

 

HITMAN – GOTY Update/Patch Release Notes (for all players)

A redesigned UI with a new colour 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.

Default Loadout
For each mission, choose the loadout that you want to use on the Planning page and save it. Next time you load that mission, your default loadout will be ready and waiting.

Bullet Distractions
As part of an ongoing review into core gameplay mechanics, we’ve increased the range that NPC’s will hear bullet impacts from 1.9 metres to 5 metres. We feel that this is a more believable distance and will allow for more creative gameplay scenarios.

Major lighting improvements to all missions
New colour grading, readjusted HDR adaptation rules and re-designed skyboxes mean that all of our locations look more vivid, vibrant and lifelike. The image below shows the ‘Club 27’ mission in Bangkok with these new improvements. Click on it to open a higher-res version.

Sniper Rifle Audio
Our Audio Team have been looking at improving the weapon sounds and have started with the Sniper Rifle, specifically the Sieger 300. Their goals were to make this Sniper feel more powerful and to achieve that, they’ve reworked the sound from the ground up with new source assets, new audio processing and a new implementation. The Sieger 300 Advanced and the Sieger 300 Ghost will also benefit from these improvements.

Speaker Configuration
We’ve added an option in the Settings Menu to configure your speaker set-up. There are three options and the game audio will mix accordingly; Surround (Default), Headphones and Stereo.

Elusive Target Re-activation
Starting in November, we will re-activate Elusive Targets. If you missed any Elusive Targets the first time around, or if you are new to HITMAN, this is your chance to experience these intense time-limited targets. All of the suit unlocks are back in play for both new and existing players to complete their collection. If you’ve already completed or failed an Elusive Target, you won’t be able to play that specific contract again; your record for that contract will stand and cannot be altered. Re-activated ET’s will still be time-limited and the first one will be re-activated shortly after the release of our Game of the Year Edition on November 7th.

Commemorative Elusive Target Unlock
If you played any of the Elusive Targets we released during Season One, we have created a small in-game reward that will only be available to a limited number of players. You’ll be awarded one of three coins, depending on your progress with Elusive Targets during their first activation. Progress is measured against simply playing an Elusive Target contract, successfully completing any Elusive Target contract and earning the Silent Assassin rating on an ET contract. The item will be granted when launching the game for the first time with the GOTY Update/Patch.

Store Tab
We’ve added a ‘Store’ tab to the menu to make it easier to; check which content you have installed, purchase episodes or upgrade to the new GOTY content directly through the game.

Contracts Discoverability
– ‘Trending’ helps you find the most popular contracts, making sure you can easily find a new challenge.
– ‘Most Played Last Week’ tracks the Contracts with the most plays in the last 7 days.

Contracts Text Search Operators
Use search operators to find titles or descriptions of created contracts.

Contract Complications
We’re adding “Complications” 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.

The complications can either be set as an ‘optional’ or ‘required’ and the Contract creator will need to make sure that they ‘achieve’ each condition when creating their contract. If any ‘required’ objectives are failed, you will immediately fail the mission.

Here’s the full list of Complications:

• Time Limit
• Required Exit (Cannot be used as an optional objective)
• Targets Only
• Do Not Get Spotted
• No Bodies Found
• Hide all Bodies
• No Disguise Changes
• Headshots Only
• No Missed Shots
• No Pacifications
• No Recordings

Red Targets
The mini map and full map will now highlight targets in red. Previously, they were white.

Death Screen
To savour the moment of failing a contract or mission by dying, the ‘Mission Failed’ screen will no longer fade to black and will instead show 47’s last moment (before replaying).

Xbox One X Enhancements
HITMAN – Game of the Year Edition is enhanced for Xbox One X. Featuring beautiful native 4K, a smooth as butter 60 FPS high frame rate mode and HDR support for vivid and stunning colors.
Watch the glorious new trailer that shows all of these enhancements, plus a few early looks at the Patient Zero missions right here:

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

IOI presents…
We’ve made changes to the bootflow of the game on consoles to include fewer logos. This change was made on PC with update 1.12.2.

Patient Zero Support
We’ve added many features that will support the Patient Zero campaign. We are being purposefully vague because detailing them would spoil the experience. This includes the new HUD elements, gameplay mechanics and AI behaviour that we mentioned when we announced the GOTY Edition.

Fixed Issues

Global Issues

• Fixed an issue that could cause NPC’s to hear silenced gunshots through walls.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the ‘compromised’ state to trigger when using a syringe on a guard whilst remaining unseen.
• Fixed an issue where the Winter Suit would not cast the proper shadows in some locations.
• Fixed an issue that could cause NPC’s to get stuck in the ground when ‘dumped’ from height.
• Fixed an issue where the Fast Target option would occasionally place the crosshair above the intended target.

Paris

• Fixed a few minor issues on the Holiday Hoarders mission.
• Fixed a few minor issues with character animation during opportunities.

Sapienza

• Fixed an issue that could make it impossible for 47 to interact with the Robot Arm, depending on what items are equipped.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the sun to show incorrect textures when in focus.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the church bell to respawn.
• Fixed a handful of issues with Abbiatti’s routine in the Landslide mission.

Bangkok

• Fixed an issue where all NPC’s could be lured to room 207 using a clock radio.
• Fixed an issue where the ‘Sticky Hatchet’ complication in the Arthin Occulation Escalation might not function properly.
• Fixed an issue that could cause Jordan Cross to suspend his routine or repeat conversations, depending on 47’s actions.

Colorado

• Fixed an issue where the map would show incorrect information about level geometry.

Hokkaido

• Fixed an issue that could cause items to fall ‘out of world’ in specific circumstances.
• Fixed an issue where Ninja 47 could get stuck on the roof. Not so ninja-like.

What’s Next? Assassination.

The November Roadmap shows all of the content coming to Hitman in November, including the first Elusive Target to be re-activated, The Forger.

Featured Contracts, Curated Contracts and Elusive Targets are available to all players and do not require the purchase of the GOTY Content.