Hitman 3 roguelike mode Freelancer postponed to second half of 2022

Hitman 3’s Freelancer single player mode will no longer be released in the spring of this year, but only in the second half. Developer IO Interactive wants to improve “certain elements” of the mode. Freelancer is a roguelike mode with a customizable safehouse.

IO Interactive writes that the development team will have more time to ‘tighten the bolts’ and get the mode ‘as close to our ambitions as possible’. The game has been tested internally and externally, with certain members of the community being able to try the mode on their own devices. That feedback was “largely positive,” but the developer now wants to improve “certain elements” that should improve the overall gameplay.

The Freelancer mode was announced in January and features roguelike elements, strategic planning and a customizable safehouse. In that safehouse, players plan missions and can practice with weapons. That hideout also expands as players progress through more missions. The missions are set within campaigns and locations around the world. Players can choose in which order they want to complete missions.

The mode is roguelike in that Agent 47’s gear is not persistent. What a player leaves behind during a mission is lost. Missions have been adapted to the mode with the addition of new NPCs that counter or help the player.

IO Interactive says it has adjusted the DLC roadmap for the spring due to Freelancer’s postponement. For example, an update with more content and ray tracing for the PC version should have been released in April; it is now on May 24th. More Featured Contracts will also be released in May. The new Rocky map, also known as Ambrose Island, will also be pushed forward and will be released in July.