IO Interactive Admits Poor Performance of Hitman 3’s Steam Release
Fans of the massively popular Hitman franchise are not happy with developer IO Interactive after the clumsy release of Hitman 3 on Steam. Following backlash and a surge of poor reviews, IO Interactive has responded by offering players free content on Steam, including DLC and Hitman 3’s digital soundtrack.
IO Interactive’s Response to Players
IO Interactive released a statement on January 27, 2022 addressing players’ feedback following Hitman 3’s long-awaited Steam release since Hitman 2 on Steam. IOI admitted to fumbling on the release and tried to make it up to fans of the game.
“Ultimately, we didn’t meet our own expectations of a launch experience and we don’t like that our Steam community is beginning their HITMAN 3 journey in this way,” IOI Player Support commented in their blog post.
By way of apology, IOI gave all Hitman 3 Steam players an upgrade, depending on which version of the game they purchased. Those who paid for the base version got a free upgrade to the Deluxe edition, which includes bonus in-game content, the soundtrack, and digital commentary on the game. Players who originally paid for the Deluxe edition received the Seven Deadly Sins Collection DLC for free.
Anyone who buys Hitman 3 on Steam through February 19, 2022 will receive the same upgrades. IOI has also released patches to fix some critical issues with the VR version.
What Went Wrong With Hitman 3’s Steam Release?
When Hitman 3 initially launched in January of 2021, it was only available on PC through the Epic Games Store. Steam is the go-to hub for PC gamers, though, with many players so dedicated that their libraries get moved between drives and computers, packed with hundreds of games. Many Steam fans would rather skip a game entirely than have their collection split up between several different stores.
Hitman is not the only PC game to get an exclusive EGS release like this. Epic Games is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on exclusivity deals in an attempt to pull market share away from Steam. In the case of Hitman 3, this backfired on IOI.
Aggressive Pricing
Despite the fact that the game was a year old at this point, Hitman 3 launched on Steam at the full MSRP of $59.99 – just for the base game. As if this wasn’t frustrating enough, fans had to pay extra to get the full game with DLC and bonus content. This pricing was especially offensive considering that Epic Games was selling Hitman 3 for just $24 during a holiday sale at the end of 2021.
Glitchy VR Performance
Players were hoping IOI would take Hitman 3 up a notch for its PC VR release, taking advantage of the higher-performance capabilities of PC VR rigs. Sadly, the PC Hitman 3 VR experience is disappointing at best and unplayable at worst.
Players have reported a slew of issues, from NPC bodies flying to the ceiling to items that make your avatar go into a glitchy spasm. The controls for the PC version of Hitman 3 VR feel like a half-hearted port of the game’s PSVR controls. PC VR’s two-handed controls and motion tracking feel clunky and underutilized. Compared to the rest of the PC VR market, Hitman 3 simply does not live up to 2022’s performance standards.
Is Hitman 3 Worth Buying On Steam?
All of the buzz surrounding Hitman 3’s Steam release is leaving many players reluctant to bother buying it at all. Luckily, IOI’s response so far seems to indicate that they plan to resolve the game’s issues. That said, players may want to wait until Hitman 3 goes on sale before buying it on Steam. Waiting it out will save money and leave IOI some time to get Hitman 3 to the level players were hoping for.