I/O Interactive head Hannes Seifert was on hand at Gamescom to talk about all things Hitman.
Square Enix Visual Works is their Japanese partner working with them directly for this game.
The E3 trailer was intended to depict an Agent 47 at the peak of his game, and tell the story of an action movie in between the action scenes.
I/O hasn’t decided if they will use the game engine for cutscenes, but game assets will definitely be used to some extent to keep the game consistent.
The story is taking the background this time around, with an overarching narrative conveniently tying everything together and freeing up the game to focus on characterization for the targets, the real stars of the game.
We should be seeing more of the game’s levels and locations in the next few weeks. After the end of each level, you will be scored based on how closely you hewed to a playstyle (stealth, action, puzzle), and you will also see the consequences of your actions. I/O wants all playstyles to feel legitimate, so you won’t see the game favoring one over the other.
Instinct Mode is taking a backseat, as per fan requests. Now, it’s only a feature to show you where to climb or interact with items. Point-shooting is now dependent on what weapons you have.
Contracts mode is coming back, but Hannes was mum on the details. I/O is open to making an online multiplayer mode, but it has to make sense in context of the Hitman universe. They do have some ideas, but again, nothing confirmed yet.
Hannes emphasizes that I/O really wants player feedback to be central for Hitman, so they have assembled elaborate plans for beta, which they will announce shortly after Gamescom. I/O will be trying things like presenting prototypes of levels for fans to vote in, and give them complete levels to give feedback on.
Hitman will be releasing on December 8 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
