The transfer process has become much more complicated
IO Interactive shared a huge pre-launch guide for Hitman 3 today, and if you're planning on getting the game on any platform - whether it's next week at launch or months later - the article is worth reading to see how your Hitman 1 and 2 progress and unlocks will carry over. If you own the previous games on Steam, you should definitely check them out. There are some unfortunate new caveats about content ownership.
It's hard to perfectly sum up the big picture, but to cut a long story short:
- You can move your Hitman 2 progress - "Rank XP, Location Mastery Levels, Location Mastery unlocks, Challenge Progression, Challenge Unlocks, and Elusive Target Combinations/Unlocks" - in Hitman 3 using an IOI account in a web browser (rather than in-game). It's a one-time move, and it's strictly platform dependent. For example, PlayStation on PlayStation, Xbox on Xbox, and Steam on the Epic Games Store.
- Save files will not be transferred to Hitman 3, and the ICA electrocution phone is "retired".
- There is a different process for importing Hitman Tiers 1 and 2 into Hitman 3, and this is where things get complicated. On PlayStation or Xbox, it mostly works as intended: if you already own Hitman 1 or 2 content, you can download the corresponding Hitman 1 or 2 Access Pack in Hitman 3 for free to play whatever you own in the new one. hub.
- On PC it's worse – you can't just verify you own Hitman 1 or 2 on Steam to unlock those tiers in Epic Store-exclusive Hitman 3, as players expected.
- How to Get Hitman 1 Levels in Hitman 3 on PC, you'll need to own the Epic Store version of Hitman 1 – or claim the Hitman 1 GOTY Access Pass while it's free for Hitman 3 owners for the “first 10 days after launch”. To get Hitman 2 levels, you'll need to purchase the corresponding Access Pass, which "will be 80% off for 14 days after Hitman 3 launches on the Epic Games Store and will continue to have regular discounts."
Access Passes aren't yet listed in the Epic Game Store, so we don't know how much they will generally cost, and IO says its PC import plans have changed "due to various circumstances beyond our control." »
The timing of this news is arguably the worst. Longtime fans would have always been upset by the tough hand they were dealt here, but at least people, in general, could have prepared better. I feel bad for anyone who just picked up Hitman 1 or 2 in a Steam sale in preparation for Hitman 3. Bummer.
Hitman 3 - Pre-Release Guide [IO Interactive]
