IO Interactive have announced players will be able to import levels from past games into Hitman 3 at no extra charge, after outcry over being unable to import from Steam into the Epic Games Store.
PCGamesN reported that while players can import levels from the prior two Hitman games, players on the Epic Games Store would be unable to import from Steam versions of those games. This is because the game is an Epic Games Store exclusive on Windows PC.
IO Interactive explained in their pre-launch guide that the Hitman 1 GOTY Access Pass would grant access to the levels from the prior games, as well as the pass being free to those who own Hitman (2016). As Hitman 2 is not availble on the Epic Games Store, the Hitman 2 Standard Access DLC would give access to the levels, with the Gold Access Pass also providing DLC levels.
After this announcement, fans grew annoyed they would need to make additional purchases for games they already owned; especially considering how controversial Epic Games Store exclusivity has been [1, 2, 3].
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney later commented on the PC GamesN’s article on Twitter, stating “Sorry, the team is looking into this with IO. It’s never Epic’s intent to create a situation where someone who owns a game on Steam would have to buy it again on Epic Games Store to get the full benefits of it.”
IO Interactive would later issue their own statement to Twitter, along with updating their pre-launch guide. They state they are working to ensure players will not need to repurchase games they already own to get the extra levels.
“We are continuing to work on a solution with our partners to allow PC players who own HITMAN 1 or HITMAN 2 to import locations from those games into HITMAN 3 at no additional cost.
We guarantee that players will NOT need to repurchase those games.
Until we roll that out in the ocming weeks, the HITMAN 1 GOTY Access Pass will be free to own for all PC players who pre-purchase or purchase HITMAN 3 in the first 10 days after release.
We are so excited for you to enjoy the full World of Assassination experience.”
How this will affect the previously sold passes is as of yet unknown.
Hitman 3 launches January 20th, 2021 for Windows PC (via the Epic Games Store), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Google Stadia.
Image: IO Interactive
