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Hitman 3 will no longer offer the option to import levels from Hitman 2 when it launches later this month, unless players repurchase Hitman 2 from the Epic Games Store first. At the bottom of a long and complicated pre-launch guide, the developers IO Interactive stated that the change in plans was “due to various circumstances beyond our control.” Hitman 1 and 2 have both released on Steam, while Hitman 3 is launching exclusively on the Epic Games Store.
Hitman 2 offered the ability to import Hitman 1 locations at launch, and it was announced in August 2020 that Hitman 3 was supposed to do the same. At the time of writing, the Hitman 3 website still advertises that “Form 1 and Form 2 locations can be imported at no additional cost to existing owners.”
This is no longer the case. The pre-launch guide explains that Hitman 1 will instead be available for free to claim only 10 days after launch from anyone who purchases Hitman 3 from the Epic Games Store. Hitman 2, meanwhile, will be available to everyone at an 80% discount for 14 days after launch. Either way, that’s not what IO is announcing, or what gamers expected when they pre-ordered the game.
It’s unclear how this affects the ability to import progression between games. The pre-launch guide suggests that progression can be imported directly from Hitman 2 on Steam to Hitman 3 on Epic, without indicating whether the locations from previous games should be present in Hitman 3. Progress gives you access to items and combinations of Agent 47 for use on Hitman 3 levels.
Beyond the vague “various circumstances”, there is also no explanation as to why there was a change of plan. Players naturally assume this is due to the series moving from Steam to the Epic Games Store, where the game is expected to be exclusive for 12 months. We’ve reached out to IO Interactive and Epic Games for comment and will update this story if either responds.