Hitman 3‘s brand-new Steam release has taken off to a rocky start, as players are review bombing the title on the platform and blaming the developers for abusing the title’s price and releasing a half-baked VR mode. IO Interactive recently announced that it had more plans for Agent 47 and revealed that Hitman 3 would continue to receive support with a Year 2 Roadmap planned out starting January 20, 2022. The title is set to receive new storylines, maps, modes, and ray tracing lined up for 2022, with the addition of the long-awaited VR version of Hitman 3 launching on PC officially coming out today.
The World of Assassination trilogy concluded with its third installment earlier this year, marking it the first title to be self-published by the veteran developers. Shortly after its initial release, IO Interactive revealed that Hitman 3 managed to become the biggest digital launch in the franchise’s history, selling 300% better than the previous entry in the series. These high sales came despite the controversial Epic Store exclusivity. Critics accompanied the celebration for Hitman 3 with impressively high scores and praising quotes, persuading IOI to create post-launch content following the games’ several achievements. The studio’s post-launch support extended the title’s lifespan, and yet another year of additional content for long-time fans of the legendary assassin is beginning.
Despite Hitman 3 officially releasing on Steam today with the start of Year 2’s Roadmap, it appears that fans are highly displeased and have review bombed the title shortly after its launch. A few hours after its release, Hitman 3 was blitzed by almost 250 negative reviews, garnering the title a “Mostly Negative” score on the storefront. Most negative reviews are seen being angry at developers for releasing the game at a full price although being a year old, however, the biggest complaint is Hitman 3‘s VR mode. Players are complaining that the new VR mode is unplayable in its current state, with some users stating “the worst VR port I’ve ever played” and claiming that the “VR implementation is Horrible.” The Steam store also has 6 different versions of the game to purchase with vague descriptions, confusing many.
VR support for Hitman 3 and the trilogy was revealed in 2020 and released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 upon the title’s launch. It allows the Hitman trilogy to be played for the first time exclusively in first-person mode and gives players new creative opportunities for all styles of play in its rich sandbox levels. Hitman 3 was a timed exclusive on the Epic Game Store for 12 months, and only received the VR mode with the Year 2 Roadmap, so the new mode being deemed unplayable is questionable.
Hitman 3 was praised as one of the greatest games of 2021, so a sudden shift in its player base due to a broken game mode left unattended by its developers is shocking. Needless to say, despite its ongoing launch problem, the title appears to be one of Steam’s best sellers today. It’s unknown when IOI will respond to the backlash and make the corresponding updates, but an update can be expected soon.
Hitman 3 is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Google Stadia.
Source: Hitman 3/Steam
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