PC players won't need to repurchase Hitman 2 to unlock Hitman 3 levels

PC players won't need to repurchase Hitman 2 to unlock Hitman 3 levels (Image credit: IO Interactive)

Hitman 3 developers IO Interactive and Epic have made an official statement to assure gamers they will not be required to repurchase Hitman 2 on the Epic Game Store to unlock additional missions and locations.

It had been previously announced just five days before the game release date that an access pass had been set up to play content from the other two Hitman games in Hitman 3. "Essentially, we have set up H1 and H2 as DLC for Hitman 3," IO said. This wouldn't be an issue for console players, but for PC gamers there was a glaring problem.

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It was previously confirmed that you wouldn't be able to play Hitman 1 and 2 levels unless you own the games on the Epic Games Store, as Hitman 3 is currently an Epic Games Store exclusive. Unfortunately, while Hitman 1 Game of the Year Edition can also be purchased on the Epic Games Store, Hitman 2 is not available.

As such, players were asked to buy the Hitman 2 content as DLC to unlock the levels in Hitman 3, even if they had previously purchased the game via another platform such as a physical game disc or via Steam. This caused an uproar in the fanbase as players were left with the choice of either waiting for Hitman 3 to eventually come to Steam, or pay up for content they already owned.

This decision has now been rolled back, with IO and Epic making statements via Twitter to confirm that a solution is being worked on to allow fans of the Hitman franchise to import their data into Hitman 3 at no additional cost.

We never want players to feel forced to repurchase content on the Epic Game Store that they bought on another PC store so they can access features in a new game.We are working closely with IO Interactive and you will be able to access past content from earlier HITMAN games. https://t.co/1MAT1O0NlyJanuary 17, 2021

Waiting game

At the time of writing, neither IO or Epic have given confirmation on when players can expect this update to go live, only that the solution will be rolled out "in the coming weeks".

Fans of the Hitman trilogy will still be able to play the third and final installment without the additional DLC, but we will have to wait and see when they can gain access to old locations and mission content like the console gaming community.

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Via Eurogamer

Jess is a former TechRadar Computing writer, where she covered all aspects of Mac and PC hardware, including PC gaming and peripherals. She has been interviewed as an industry expert for the BBC, and while her educational background was in prosthetics and model-making, her true love is in tech and she has built numerous desktop computers over the last 10 years for gaming and content creation. Jess is now a journalist at The Verge.