In anticipation of the game’s imminent beta test, developer Io-Interactive has touched base on the key elements of its upcoming Hitman reboot and, specifically, those “controversial” release plans. 
Originally, the title was pitched as a $60 experience that would introduce additional content after launch, before the studio opted to postpone the game in light of criticism. Fast forward to 2016 and Io has settled on the “fully episodic” blueprint, likening Hitman‘s release plans to a televised series, with a physical version capping off the season at the end of the year. 
Reflecting on this “soul searching,” Studio Head Hannes Seifert admitted that Io-Interactive’s chopping and changing has led to confusion among its audience. Per VideoGamer:
“So we had this [plan] pretty early, and then of course the market also had to evolve in a certain way for it to make complete sense. After all, [Hitman] is a AAA game, it needs its audience, it needs its target market, and it comes with a lot of expectations after 15 years of games. All of these things combined I think made us detour from our original vision a few times, and now we’ve landed back on it. This detouring caused some of the confusion that I’m personally really sorry for. I think we should have stuck to our guns longer, although it’s controversial, but now we’ve ended up on what absolutely feels right. The game is written in a way that i...