You may have seen the new Hitman at E3 2015. You may even have gotten hyped for it. But that hype is slowly draining away for some, as Square Enix has slowly but surely explained how the game won't be releasing in full on the 8th December.
Posting a question and answer segment on the title's official website, the publisher has revealed that the game won't be complete when it launches this winter on PlayStation 4. "HITMAN will launch on PS4 on December 8th this year as a digital download. That's when the experience will begin. And it's really important to us that this is understood as a 'beginning'," the post states.
It continues: "What we release on December 8th is not the full game. It's a sizeable chunk of it. Throughout 2016 we'll release more locations and missions until the story arc is done and finished. All of that content is included in the $60 price." Now, from what we gather, this seems to be a similar business model to what we've seen from episodic game releases, but Square Enix doesn't quite see it that way. "We think the word 'episodic' sets up the expectation that we will sell individual content drops for individual prices but that's not something we're planning to do. That said, there are some episodic elements to the story in the sense that it's delivered in chunks over time, so experiencing the story will probably feel episodic."
We're not entirely sure what to think of this, but we suppose that if the publisher does indeed keep its promise of providing regular content updates, it shouldn't be too bad. As for the title being digital only, the company says that it plans on releasing a physical version at some point in 2016. We'd imagine that'll be when all of the content is finished.
What do you make of this? Is it shady? Does it point towards an unfinished game hitting the market, or is it an attractive idea? Remain sceptical in the comments section below.
[source hitman.com, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 35
Part of me thinks that if you need an entire Q&A section on your site to explain how and why you're launching the game in this way, it probably isn't the best idea.
Unattractive model, consumer's have no idea if future content will be any good and could risk ending up with a paid for demo.
Why can't they say everything as it actually is.
I gather that they will add new missions on daily, weekly and month basis. And some of those missions will be story driven.
@ShogunRok Agreed.
I think an episodic release format would suit the series. However what they are doing is just bizarre.
Cancelled my preorder, this seems like the next step in making this industry crap, I'd rather wait until the whole experience is available so I can gauge wether or not it's worth a full investment, this to me seems like a way to prolong the £50 price tag instead of it dropping quickly, in any event I'm patient so I'll wait for the final release before purchasing it, it's ok I guess for people that want it now just overall it seems as I've said, a way to prolong the price tag. I do enjoy episodic games though such as LIS and TWD and so fourth but this seems rather strange.
Thats easy for me ill wait till the whole game comes out on a discount Price. Not prob Square 1 sale less.
So its episodic but not "episodic". You're paying full price for part of rhe game but you're not allowed to play it right away, and they're not releasing....
What the hell? I have no idea what these people are talking about, and iirc the last game didn't set the world on fire.
Just... sort it out man.
I'll wait until the game is finished in 2016 before deciding wether to buy or not, they are off there heads if they think people are going to be paying full RRP for a game that's still in development.
Sorry I think I just reported myself by mistake.
"Tales of a Hitman"
" there are some episodic elements to the story in the sense that it's delivered in chunks over time, so experiencing the story will probably feel episodic."
I absolutely despise episodic. I'll wait to see if the full version is worthy.
I don't know how others feel but from my perspective I want the whole game delivered and know what I am getting for that. For those sitting on the fence about Hitman, its going to be a very difficult decision and the reviews aren't going to help either.
Personally I really hope this fails massively. Its not a business model I want to see in any future release.
Hmm I'm confused as to how this is news to people. From what I saw on stage, this is how they pitched the game from the start.
I thought this was how it was being released anyway from watching the press conference. They did say they would be adding regular content to the game to add to the story arc, and that there would also be missions that once gone are gone for good. I Dont really see how this is any different to the business model for destiny
@ktc64 snap, thats what i got from it from announcement too
I already wasn't that interested in this to begin with, but now I'm definitely not interested. No thanks!
I think it's a DUMB IDEA an that's it..... Not all of us have uncapped in this world to download gigs after gigs after gigs so square jus release the game before fall. Please!!!
Sounds pretty f**king dumb but then again, this is SquareEnix. I worry about Deus Ex Mankind Divided's future.
@BAMozzy
Completely agree. If people are stupid enough to buy this garbage and show developers this is an acceptable practice, I'm done. This is not a future anybody involved in the game industry whether it be a developer, publisher, journalist or gamer, should want.
Could be good. I don't know for sure but I believe the last Hitman game underperformed? Perhaps this is a way for them to keep the franchise going without throwing huge amounts of money at it all at once, plus it lets them take on feedback and make adjustments as it evolves.
Frankly I was a bit surprised to hear they were announcing another so soon given my overall impression of the last game so I'm not too shocked to hear it won't be a "standard" release.
@kyleforrester87 yeah they said in the press conference they can release content on the fly taking peoples opinions and wants on board. Im interested anyway
Just as devils advocate, wasnt destinys business model like this except you had to pay to expand that game?
@Mrskinner Destinys business model was more like WoW. The on-disc contents told a 'Story' (of sorts) right through to its conclusion with a the expansions having a separate story and expanding on the gear and MP maps too. Its not like you pay $60 and only access a few areas on earth this month, the rest of earth the next month, some of the moon the month after etc etc...and after a year you finally have all the areas and content available.
Would you pay $60 for the Witcher 3 (as you have that as an avatar) if you got a Witcher Contract, a side quest and maybe a bit of the story given to you periodically over a year or wait until the whole complete game comes out? Would you pay $60 for Uncharted 4 if you got a chapter a month? Would you buy MGSv if all you got was one mission (like the 'infiltration' video mission) every month or wait until the whole game releases? I know you can replay those missions again and again in different ways but still you wouldn't want just one of these every few weeks to a month and pay for it all up front.
I have picked some big names in games but the Hitman franchise isn't exactly that big. From what I recall of Absolution when I got that free, you were given a contract and some could be completed in minutes if you watched the movement, triggered an environmental action and just walked away... this sounds like each one of those 'contracts' being released over a period of time. Maybe 30mins to an hour max available at a time although can be tackled again in various ways its still not a business model I want to see or agree with in any shape or form.
I think a lot of people here are assuming what you get right off the bat is equivalent to a tiny amount of a full game, then you get the rest of the full game later. What if it's actually a good sized thing to begin with? People are assuming the initial thing is like a Mario game you can complete in a couple of hours, then you get another "world" every few months, each one will only take half an hour or so.
What if it's more like, say, a Pokemon game that has a lot of content, and over time you get more gyms and Pokemon added instead of having to buy a slight upgrade in a couple of years time? Or like FIFA where you buy one game and then get free roster updates every season for several years? A Street Fighter that has the eventual Super and Ultra upgrades for free as they arrive?
I agree... I think it's a dumb idea how do you know what your buying into what's gonna happen to dues ex? Bloody hell square sort your self's out!
I think this has turned me right off buying on release. Sounds like an early access game and I am not buying into that crap on my console as well as Steam, I was burned on Spacebase and I will not be burned again.
The Hitman PS4 new gaming experience - unfinished, half baked, business first, ethics last, 900p, unnecessarily online load of rubbish with an unfinished story, unfinished missions and unfinished menus.
As @kyleforrester87 says unless they ran this model we may never get a new hitman game - so maybe it was the only choice?
This is exactly what they said at the conference... I don't understand why people is acting like this is news
So it's kind of like and episodic version of early access? Ehh, I'll wait and just pick up the physical edition. As long as they drop content regularly and its high quality then I don't have a problem with it. But like Kickstarter, I don't spend my money on promises.
I'll wait.
I think it is the same model used by RE:Revelation 2... Not that bad actually...
NOPE NOPE NOPE get away forever.
@DualWielding I know it as exactly how it was presented by Square Enix and I didn't like the concept then - I dislike it as much - if not more now the buzz of E3 has left!!!
Think I'm in a minority and don't actually mind this kind of model to release a game! A good sized portion to play each month helps with the backlog, builds up anticipation for the next months release and keeps the game fresh! The only problem is, to cough up £50+ up front for a game your gonna have to wait each month to play! Theres pros and cons, you just gotta weigh up what suits you!
This is depressing, hopefully the physical version will release during Summer or Fall 2016.
I won't buy Hitman until it comes out on disk. I'm not interested in being manipulated or forced into a digital download only format. I regularly buy DLC expansions but only after purchasing the initial physical game.
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