‘Hitman’ Beta Begins February 12, Watch The Beta Trailer
The Hitman beta begins on February 12 for PlayStation 4 users, and on February 15 for PC users. Square Enix and Io-Interactive invite gamers to “play the beginning” in the Hitman beta experience. The beta is set 20 years in the past, and guides players through Agent 47’s ICA origin story. For a glimpse of what’s to come in the new Hitman, watch the new beta launch trailer.
Access to the Hitman beta is only guaranteed to those who pre-order a digital version of the game or the physical Collector’s Edition. The digital versions currently available for pre-order include a “Full Experience” priced at $59.99 USD and an “Intro Pack” with the Prologue and Paris missions for $15 USD. Pre-orders for the standard physical copy of the game are still available, but beta access is only granted to digital pre-orders for PC and PlayStation 4.
Although the Hitman beta experience is coming to PC and PS4, it will not be available on Xbox One.
After delaying Hitman beyond its original December 8, 2015, release date, Io-Interactive has announced a new release date of March 11, but with a significant change. Now, Hitman is getting an exclusively digital release at launch, and the game is being delivered to fans in the form of individual, episodic chapters. The physical disc version is still forthcoming, but it is essentially going to be a collection of the Full Experience content on disc.
We've opened up the HITMAN Collector's Edition to take a closer look at what's inside!https://t.co/nHhQ620GZl@PlayStationEU @PlayStation
— HITMAN (@Hitman) February 5, 2016
Those getting the Collector’s Edition are included in the beta because this set will be released on March 11 with the Full Experience digital code inside instead of the physical disc version that will be released at a later date. It also comes with a highly-detailed model of Agent 47 and a replica of his signature red tie.
Play the Hitman Beta first on PS4 on February 12th! Pre-order the full experience to guarantee access! @playstation pic.twitter.com/92ONjH5NcV
— HITMAN (@Hitman) December 23, 2015
In addition to granting PlayStation 4 players access to the Hitman beta first, Sony is boasting a few other exclusive bonuses for those who choose to play as Agent 47 on the PS4. Pre-ordering via the PlayStation Store nets players an exclusive Agent 47 theme. For no additional charge, playing on PS4 grants players access to six exclusive contract missions, called “The Sarejevo Six.” According to the official PlayStation Blog, “these are six bonus contracts that tell a self-contained side-story revolving around former members of a paramilitary unit called CICADA. Agent 47 will travel the world in pursuit of his targets, with one contract available in each location from the game.”
The HITMAN Beta is set 20 years in the past at a top secret ICA training facility. https://t.co/oQjF8Tq7Pp pic.twitter.com/pYZ5vJca00
— HITMAN (@Hitman) December 9, 2015
Hitman’s beta file is approximately 4 GB. The beta experience takes players through the game’s actual Prologue mission. Considering the storyline and gameplay are not essentially going to change before launch, beta players get to experience a full Hitman episode almost an entire month before the launch across all platforms. However, progress will be reset at the conclusion of the beta, as it does not carry over to the final version of the game.
According to the Hitman FAQ on the official website, the Prologue chapter consists of two free-form training hits.
“You’ll be able to replay each hit as many times as you wish throughout the beta period to complete the challenges and the multiple ways to take down your target – as you would expect.”
The Hitman episodic launch begins on March 11 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. The Italy episode is scheduled for an April release, followed by an episode set in Morocco in May.
[Image via Square Enix]
