Hitman 3 will no longer offer the ability to import Hitman 2 levels when it launches later this month, unless players re-purchase Hitman 2 at Epic Games Store. At the bottom of a long and complicated pre-launch guide, the developers of IO Interactive said the change of plans is due to “various circumstances beyond our control.” Hitman 1 and 2 were released on Steam, while Hitman 3 is released exclusively from Epic Games Store.
Hitman 2 offered the ability to import Hitman 1 locations at launch and it was announced in August 2020 that Hitman 3 would do the same again. At the time of writing, the Hitman 3 website still announces that “Form 1 and 2 locations can be imported at no additional cost to existing owners.”
It is no longer so. The pre-release guide explains that Hitman 1 will be available for free to claim only 10 days after release to anyone who buys Hitman 3 at Epic Games Store. Meanwhile, Hitman 2 will be available to everyone with an 80% discount for 14 days after launch. In both cases, this is not what IO announces, nor what players expected when they pre-ordered the game.
It is unclear how this affects the ability to import progress between games. The pre-release guide suggests that progress can be imported directly from Hitman 2 on Steam to Hitman 3 on Epic, not to mention if the locations from previous games should be present in Hitman 3. Progress gives you access to items and costumes for Agent 47 to use at Hitman 3 levels.
Beyond the “various circumstances” strikes, it is also not explained why there has been a change of plan. Players naturally assume that this is due to the change of the Steam series to Epic Games Store, where the game is expected to be exclusive for 12 months. We have contacted IO Interactive and Epic Games for comment and will update this story if anyone responds.