This is how i see it too. They have a concept, and the more people show interest by opening their wallets the more polished the later parts could potentially become.
Any new talent they can hire and grow into being their own publisher will add to potential development ability, assuming they don’t focus all of it on 007 (which i don’t, because that’s probably still quite far off and they could keep Hitman profitable for at least another year or two).
Absolutely. It is a win-win for IOI.
Honestly, IOI released Hitman III in January 2021 and most of the crew then took a long holiday, except those on QA and bug fixes, because they are Northern Europeans, and they do that.
So from January 2021 to now they have had a few weeks to sketch out a roadmap of this premium post-launch, premium DLC – and lay out the responsibilities for each of the teams involved.
The interest for the average consumer drops off heavily after a few weeks post-launch.
IOI wants to keep the tail of sales high after their successful launch of Hitman III.
They are doing whatever they can to keep up the interest in their product post-launch.
They want to make a splash of premium post-launch content over a specified period, and I just don’t see it as a cash grab, but as way to sustain interest – with a quality product, especially in support of their community that they have spent years in developing, who they want to please, and (according to this forum, are deeply engaged in their product).
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This image is pretty cool. What is it? A face? A mask?
It looks like Janus’ outfit from Sgail or maybe the one with the crowns. Also, kinda looks tied up in some rope. I wonder what it means…
And… it appears that IOI didn’t originally have this Seven Deadly Sins as part of their monthly roadmap plans.
IOI has pushed this reveal of future premium content ahead of their original plans – because I believe that IOI has felt the overwhelming response and support for their product.
IOI read the threads of fans expressing their disappointment that Hitman III was the end of IOI’s involvement in Hitman.
So they pushed ahead their reveal of future premium content, as a message to their core fans:
“*Actually, we are here and listening to the forums, and we wanted to let you to know know that we aren’t dropping Hitman. In fact, we have something special planned for you guys, and you are going to love it. We have sketched out a vague idea of what it is, and we have a substantial team working on it. Here is our trailer. Make hay of it”
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Well, uh, yeah…
No one knew about it until IOI announced it, and the monthly roadmaps were structured as they normally were.
But I don’t think there’s any use speculating on when/how/why this expansion content was conceived and why they’re announcing it now. Whether it was “for the fans”, whether this was in the cards all along, etc. No one knows the details behind this DLC other than IO themselves. So let’s be patient and see how this project evolves.
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That’s exactly what i thought when we got the trailer for ‘Greed’ and it addressed the ‘weren’t things better when it was just about the money’ , since many of the users on the forum said they didn’t really get the feeling the storyline fight against Providence was all that great and missed the ‘Carusso’ level content, with each hit being a story of duality and layers, where you can learn about what makes someone tick.
Like being in a grey world, where later parts became being light against dark for dominance of the world. ‘fine, you guys want less white knight, take this black knight season’.
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well said. And likely IOI doesn’t even know exactly how the project will evolve either…
I did, actually. I’ve liked the escalations in the Deluxe pack a lot.
We’d all like new maps, but remember the devs said in the speedrun video that one map took a year to make. I think they’re probably doing the best they can considering COVID and being entirely indie while supporting 3 projects.
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More bonus missions like that in ‘‘remixed’’ versions of the maps would be genius tho!
what would be aweful is if the game suffer the same fate as hitman absolution contracts mode, killed by the servers… (’‘temporarily’’ of course lol)
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So people are saying that IOI doesn’t know where they’re going with this project but they expect us to pay 30$ for something that they haven’t planned yet and gonna figure it out on the go? this is highly unprofessional.
If they do know where they’re going with this project and have an idea about its contents, then why not tell us to decide whether it’s worth the 30$ investment?
You can find excuses as to why it’s not included in the deluxe pack, or why it’s worth 30$, but what’s the excuse of not telling what to expect or what they’re planning to do with the project even if they haven’t finished it yet. I am sure they have a good idea of how all 7 stages will look like.
I can only assume they don’t wanna tell us because all of it going to be 3-stage escalations (deluxe escalations style), and they didn’t announce that because they’re afraid players will think not worth the 30$.
indefensible shady practices from IOI
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You answered it yourself, bud.
They’d have to be nuts to make promises that they aren’t 100% sure of coming through on.
I don’t think anyone is arguing against people who are concerned about the value or who wait and see (or wait for a sale). It’s the cries of “IOI are exploiting us!!!” that get replies like “you don’t have to buy it.”
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If only IOI knows about the details then why not tell us? Obviously, I don’t mean spoilers just the type of content they’re planning to release (escalations, challenge packs, special assignment, remix of maps…) In what world does it make sense to market a product without telling the consumers what to expect in return?
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I agree that what info they’ve given us isn’t enough to justify putting down so much cash on a secret schedule of content (especially, when at first glance, the content is tools that we basically already have – coins and a cane/melee item – though the unique escalation looks enticing).
But I think the secrecy of the schedule is meant to offer surprises over the course of the next few months, giving players something to look forward to and speculate about. Either that, or they don’t have a plan totally nailed down yet, and are offering this slate of content as a way to release the content as it’s completed.
IOI’s never been the best at effectively and clearly explaining their content to others, so the vague writing might be a product of misguided secrecy again.
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Game Theory: The seven deadly sins are the continued halucination from the secret ending in Carpathian Mountains. This can be further supported by what Diana says from the trailer…
It’s time to go to work
Don’t you long for the oldest days, before things got personal?
This is of course only canon in my head and I’m making it so and nobody can stop me.
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A very valid point I just heard is that escalations, unlike missions, are completely tied to being online. So making DLC that could possibly be majorly reliant on being online (we’ll have to wait and see really) is a bit worrying when we don’t know the future of H3 post-lifetime. Obviously that’s very much in the future and not a pressing concern, but it would be interesting to hear what IO’s plans are regarding always online and their servers for the future
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Definitely. But we’re also dealing with a game whose main progression system is tied to being online. (Challenges to get Mastery to unlock Items).
A line has already been crossed with how that’s been setup, so… yeah hopefully this whole restriction can be lifted in a few years’ time.
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I wonder if they’ll have different voice actors guide 47 through each sin. Diana is the voice in 47′s head for greed cause she supplies the contracts that nets him all that dough. Maybe Lucas Grey for wrath given how hellbent he was on making Providence pay. Arthur for envy or pride. Etc. Perhaps the story is too neatly wrapped up for them to bring those characters back but I think it would slap.
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However servers won’t be working forever and it will inevitably happen.
I hope not in nearest 5-8 years though