Setting up a hit-trick

Mattias Engstrom tells Oscar Taylor-Kent about bringing the world of assassination to PlayStation 5 with Hitman 3

- Mattias Engstrom

Towering above us, the grandiose Dubai skyscraper isn’t just our introduction to Hitman 3, it will be yours too as it’s the opening level. And if your first thought was the same as ours, creative director Mattias Engström is happy to confirm you’ll be able to push someone off the top of it. “[The level] was built intentionally to introduce you to some of our new features for the first time,” he shares.

Offering six dense levels at launch, all packed with possible methods of assassinating your targets, Hitman 3 is coming to both PS4 and PS5, and plays host to all previous stages from the trilogy as an assassination hub. “Hitman is in our blood at IO, so there is never any shortage of ideas,” says Engström when we ask whether it was a challenge ensuring these new levels feel fresh next to the older ones. “Because of the creative nature of the game, you can’t help but think up new ideas for 47 all the time – so in terms of ideas for content, we have plenty.” (We know what he means. After our own binge sessions, we often can’t help imagining hypothetical Hitman levels.)