Hitman 3 has finally launched on Steam, but one look at the Steam reviews for the game reveal that something is amiss. It's currently sitting at a "Mixed" rating on the PC platform at the time of writing, owed largely to a mixture of the game's pricing and issues with its VR functionality.
As reported by VGC, fans of the Hitman trilogy have been less than pleased at the third entry's $59.99 / £49.99 price tag, especially considering the game has previously been discounted on the Epic Games Store, not to mention currently being free on the Xbox Game Pass subscription service as part of the Hitman Trilogy bundle.
“Our Hitman 3 launch on Steam didn’t go as planned,” an IO Interactive statement posted to Hitman 3's Steam page reads. “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.
“So, here’s what we’re going to do: Everyone on Steam who has already bought Hitman 3, or anyone that buys the game through to February 19th 2022, will be granted a free upgrade.”
The upgrades explained
The free upgrade applies to all owners of Hitman 3, and depending on which version they own, will receive the next tier up out of the available versions.
For example, Standard Edition owners will be granted a free upgrade to the Deluxe Edition. Meanwhile, players who bought the Deluxe Edition of Hitman 3 will be upgraded to the Seven Deadly Sins Collection. Upgrades have already begun rolling out, too, so if you're eligible for a Hitman 3 upgrade, you'll likely receive it soon if you haven't already.
Free upgrades are nice, of course, but problems with Hitman 3's Steam version persist, particularly when it comes to that controversial price point. While the discussion thread has been somewhat positive, some players are still disgruntled over the base price of Hitman 3 on Steam, which hasn't changed in spite of the free upgrades.
Whether or not IO Interactive chooses to reduce the price of Hitman 3 on Steam remains up in the air, but it would be a further gesture of goodwill from developer to community.
That's especially so, considering the game is available at much more affordable prices on other platforms. As such, it's understandably hard to not be cynical about Hitman 3's Steam release – the game has been out on other platforms for over a year, after all.
