IO Interactive's Hitman 3 rebrand merges the trilogy into a World of Assassination

IO Interactive announced Hitman 3 will be rebranded. Starting January 26, the game will now be known as Hitman: World of Assassination, and bring in all the content from the previously released Hitman 1 (2016) and Hitman 2 (2018) onto a single platform.

Hitman 3's initial 2021 release allowed owners of the previous two games to import maps, levels, and progress. The World of Assassination rebrand will allow those who previously purchased just Hitman 3 to own content of the first two games via IO's Access Pass system at no extra cost.

"In 2015, we shared our vision for the World of Assassination; an ever-expanding game that would evolve over time and be the foundation for future Hitman games," wrote IO. "These changes will make it easier than ever to enter and enjoy the World of Assassination—and finally allow us to realize the vision we set out to achieve."

The trade-off of this new rebrand is that individual versions of the first two Hitman games will be delisted from digital stores on January 26. Players who already own those games will still be able to access them going forward, but the improvements of those games will be specifically for Hitman: World of Assassination.

As part of an effort to streamline the process of buying its game, IO has priced World of Assassination at $70 (or a country's equivalent) for those who don't get the free upgrade. That version will include Hitman 3, the complete version of Hitman 1, and Hitman 2 with the base Access Pass. 

In its closing statements, IO wrote that its changes "will have a hugely positive effect on existing players and new players alike. It will also make our lives a lot easier too, there’s no doubting that. For many players, it will mean free content to enjoy. [...] For new players, who probably aren’t reading this here, they’ll have a much better experience buying Hitman games."