Hitman 3's been out for just over a week and, no pun intended, it's been quite the hit.
Whilst Switch owners received a Cloud Version of the game, we still thought highly of Agent 47's latest adventure, and it successfully topped the UK Charts last week. As a result, it isn't too surprising that IO Interactive's stealth sandbox game has already reclaimed their development costs within the space of a week. The news comes from GamesIndustry.biz, who got to speak with IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak.
Speaking about the game's success, Hakan confirmed:
We have been really happy with the Hitman 3 journey. It has been a labor of love between our fans and everyone at the studio. As the developer and publisher, we are immensely proud that we can say Hitman 3 is already profitable. We have recouped the total project costs in less than a week. That puts us in a really good place and allows us to confidently move forward with our ambitious plans for future projects.
It bodes well for future games like Project 007, though whether they'll also come to Switch remains to be seen. Despite that success, it doesn't look like any further Hitman entries are currently planned, as Hitman 3 is the finale to their rebooted "World of Assassination" trilogy.
Keep in mind that IO Interactive hasn't ruled out any future follow-ups; just don't expect those anytime soon.
Have you been playing Hitman 3 since it launched? Let us know in the comments.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 30
Good to hear... yeah that’s all I can say Nintendo Life
I've downloaded the demo to show my interest in the IP. But I won't be buying a streaming option. Good to hear the IP is likely to live on at some point.
Out of curioisty I tried the 10 minute demo of the Switch cloud version and well....games are not meant to be played that way.
Just to clarify my internet is damn good so that is not an issue. Cloud gaming will just never be as good as playing natively on your console.
Not for me.
''what's this doing on NLife?''
''realises there's a cloud version...''
Wonderful game, serious, this game is amazing!
Love how they respect the franchise and bring all of them together in this masterpiece.
@TheFullAndy I agree 100% either put the work in and port it properly or don't bother.
@Brummieendo90
I wouldn't go as far as say don't bother as I know some people are willing to play cloud versions but I agree if the game can be ported in a playable state then that should absolutely be the option to take for a developer.
Doom Eternal being a prime example. Yeah it runs at half the framerate and at a lower resolution but it will still play better and more consistently than any cloud version of the game.
@TheFullAndy question for you? What didn't work when you were playing it? (Also what internet speed do you get)
I'm really interested in if the cloud versions are successful or not. Stadia works great but I have too many other platforms to think about. But I do think cloud gaming will become way more important.
Unfortunately although I'm interested in the concept I'm just not interested in the games so far!
My internet is around 90Mbps download and 30Mbps upload. On Switch it maxes out at 60Mbps download but more than enough to stream a game at top quality. Edit: My ping is 18ms according to the speed chack app on my phone so no issues there either.
Issues with the Hitman demo:
1. It very much looks like an unstable picture, you can tell you are looking at something being streamed.
2. Stuttering at the start for about 30 seconds.
3. The audio kept cutting in and out, like skipping on a record.
4. The lag was very noticeable.
Those combined just constantly remind you the game could just collapse at any given moment, even people with the best internet can get hitches every now and then, likewise the server streaming the game.
Then you have the cost issues and you are paying full price for a game with a very finite lifespan.
I have no doubt cloud gaming will get bigger but it is not something I will ever put money into.
I can definitely say that I ran into less issues with Hitman 3 than I did with Control, despite choosing the performance option for the latter. Both games show the potential of cloud gaming with its gorgeous visuals, but it really screams at you to get a stable connection.
Its price is not so generous. Even though it's deemed as a "subscription," it's at full price for something that's only on for a limited time. Unless there was a guarantee for permanent server support, it's not going to be a game I'm buying.
@TheFullAndy Hitman 3 Cloud works on Switch, but it ends there. I would never pay full price for this version even on Stadia which is better.
I ran Hitman 3 cloud using wired cable on fiber line, and even then it's not that good.
Stadia is still have the best cloud gaming today, and is even better if you use Chromecast Ultra.
XCloud is still in beta and is behind Stadia as of today.
I sure hope AAA third party gaming for Switch ends up in the cloud as it's not a good experience on Switch.
@NathanTheAsian They can of course not give permanent support, but they could specify a time span for when it will be available.
A triple-AAA third-party title, and a highly rated one at that, that releases on Switch at the same time as all the other major platforms - how often does that happen? Not a huge fan of cloud gaming either, but if it stops the Switch getting passed over, then I’m not wholly opposed. If you get Hitman 3 on your PC, you’re not going to be playing it on the train either. At least you can take your Switch easily to different rooms around your home.
That said, I agree that full price for a subscription is something that needs looking at. Also, everyone’s mileage will vary depending on their broadband connection. I won’t bite, but I think for a top-tier, less action-oriented game, I might. Something like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, given that it’s turn-based, might be a better fit for streaming. If that had come out day and date on Switch with the other platforms, I’d be tempted.
Played the test demo. Runs great. As good as the Control one that I bought before. Very hard to notice a difference between it and a local game. But Hitman games just aren't for me. Played 1 and 2 a bit on Stadia as they were free but I just didn't click with them.
@Ventilator
If it is not possible for a AAA (or any kind of A) game to run in any playable form on Switch then yeah stick it in the cloud as an option for people who only have a Switch.
I will continue to have my PS4/5 Switch combo to get the best of both worlds.
I feel Microsoft with Xcloud on Gamepass will be the one to push cloud gaming further than it has before but I don't actually see it succeeding with "real gamers" but more casual gamers, but that is a potentially massive market.
By "real gamers" I mean people for whom it is a real hobby/interest, not suggesting they are better in any way.
I feel like lately I'm seeing more and more developers making a point to say they've "recovered development costs within 'X' amount of time" with whatever new game. I was always under the impression that just saying they "sold a lot" or "sold X amount of copies so we're happy" etc. was suffice. Is this the new thing to do now? Meaning unless you don't mention the 'recovered development costs' in your victory statement you're a flop? I know I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill but the more I hear it the more it becomes a trendy generic buzz statement that may or may not be true.
@TheFullAndy I agree on that. Impossible ports only for Cloud.
I know what you mean about Cloud. It's mostly for casual people who doesn't what latency and framerate means.
Excluding XCloud, Game Pass is also for hardcore people as 100% of the games can be played natively on Xbox and PC.
At the moment i think Game Pass is pushing most mainly because of native play and not cloud right now.
There have been no news on how many who uses Cloud in it yet.
Stadia were praised for having the best version of Cyberpunk 2077 on release. Less bugs and no performance issues.
@Ventilator
Yeah Cyberpunk was a surpise boon for Stadia, showing the potential benefits of cloud gaming.
Of course there is the massive caveat that it was really only because that game was such a clusterf....mess on other systems and that benefit would not be a factor in the vast majority of game releases as they will normally work as intended at launch!
@TheFullAndy Even with all it's bugs in CP 2077 on release, it were still possible to complete it on Stadia and PC.
CP also worked good overall on the 3+ year old Xbox One X.
PS4 and Xbox One versions were basically unplayable on release because of terrible framerate. Those 2 versions is the main reason why it were blown up sky high.
Excluding Nintendo open world games which usually don't have that much bugs, it's normal for other new games to have a long list.
It's pointless to pre-order open world games. By the time they are fixed, you get them cheaper.
@Strumpan
A lot of it would probably be rough estimates. Still, it would definitely be better than nothing.
@iulis84
They clearly aren't talking about the cloud version.
@NathanTheAsian I think the best option would be to sell subscriptions per month or per year. I could see myself buying that.
@Strumpan
Yeah, I wish they would go that route. That way, we could finish the game and not waste money on it, assuming we use that subscription time well.
@Ganner
I am not entirely sure what you mean.
Knowing whether a game "sold well" or even an exect number is just giving less information, as we still don't know if it was really successful relative to the development cost.
Saying that they already got their dev costs back in gives a better view on how commercially successful it is.
This is especially interesting in this case, since IO Interactive was left by their publisher after Hitman (2016) because of its commercial failure, which in turn got the company in financial trouble.
IO Interactive, now self publishing, being so successful is just very good news for the future of the franchise and the company behind it.
Cloud gaming isn't something that I'm willing to get into right now, but I'm having a lot of fun with the non-cloud version of Hitman 3 on another platform. Glad to see that this game is a success for IOI.
@Kirgo I see your point. I was mostly speaking out of my rear end. It was the first thought that came to mind when I read about it making the costs back. There's nothing wrong with it I just don't remember details like that being headline news other than "hey we sold a lot!".
Cloud performance as compared to Digital is by far the worst for buyers since you own literally own nothing now even a download of the game. So Cloud buyers you got (*&(&^ by them from start to finish. If they really supported gamers a Digital download would signal their support of gamers.
Having played the short intro I was really disappointed with the level of the graphics in this. Sure, the resolution is high but the 3D models seemed very low poly and unrealistic (like PS2 basic). Really don't see why the Switch couldn't have had a proper port of this.
@6thHorizon
I don't know how the cloud version looks exactly or for you specifically, but comparisons to PS2 graphics are honestly ridiculous.
PS3 would never be able to handle this either.
A PS2 Hitman looks like this:
https://img.gameswelt.de/public/images/200205/b7546d54bfccfb0d68134ef11784ea1f.jpg
I also think the Switch could handle the game, but only with severely reduced settings.
@Kirgo
The 3D models like the cars and the boat itself I thought looked very poor and reminded me of that era. The resolution and lighting are obviously far better than back then.
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