REQUEST: They should release a patch/update that makes Hitman: Sniper Challenge (which was originally a preorder bonus) available to play on all versions of Hitman: Absolution.
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I’m pretty sure it’s a rights issue.
When Ioi went independent, they took the Hitman ip with them, so I highly doubt this is a rights issue. They most likely think it’s not worth the effort to make Sniper Challenge playable from Absolution itself. At least it’s included for free when you buy Absolution on Steam.
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They took the rights to the IP, but the rights to past games released under other publishers and such, that’s still a murky area. Square Enix still has earnings rights to Absolution, as far as I know, because it’s still a game released when they owned IOI, so anything relating to Absolution, like the Sniper Challenge DLC, is still something that they have the rights to as well. Unless my understanding of ownership rights is outdated, which could very well be true.
There is a chance that IOI do not own Sniper Challenge and would have to sort a deal with Square Enix (or whoever holds ownership at this point).
A preorder bonus like Sniper Challenge typically falls under marketing and promotion for the game, which is usually paid for by the game publisher. The publisher then typically owns any content produced specifically for any marketing that they paid for, even if they don’t own the IP. IOI owning the Hitman IP does not mean they also own all past marketing and anything related as well.
This is potentially part of the why The Wildcard ET has never been live more than once, as there was an entire #VoteGary marketing campaign around the mission before it went live. So the same thing might be applying to The Wildcard too.
Of course, this is all speculation because we’ll never see the complete agreement from when Square Enix and IOI separated. But its still a possibility that can’t be ruled out.
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Ip rights to Hitman also includes previous games, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to include content from 2016 and 2 in their Woa patch.
There is no speculation really, just the fact that 2016 and 2 content is available after the Woa patch is proof enough that they own the rights to previous Hitman games.
But if you want more proof, look at the Steam links for Blood Money and Absolution:
Both used to be published by different companies, Eidos and Square Enix respectively, but now show Ioi as the publisher.
Unfortunately the original post on IOI website is no longer available, but I found a copy of it
This may give an idea of why some things is not as a fanbase imagines
I’m pretty sure they could get it back though. All the negotiating and payouts for not only getting the Sarajevo Six back but also the agreements for the celebrities who have signed on, I’m sure IOI would be in a position to get permission for relaunching the Sniper challenge again, in time.
None of what you have said disproves anything I said. IOI owing the games has nothing to do with them owning material for past marketing campaigns for those games.
Sniper Challenge is not marketing material, it was a pre-order bonus for Hitman Absolution back in the day. Nowadays, you get it for free alongside Absolution on Steam. Absolution lists Ioi as publishers, confirming it’s theirs.
You get Sniper Challenge for free alongside Absolution, meaning there’s no way Ioi would give away Sniper Challenge for free if they had to give Square Enix money to do it.
Its was marketing as it was intended to drive people to pre-order the game ahead of launch. Literally the definition of marketing.
I won’t be replying further because this conversation is a bit ridiculous.
I think Sniper Challenge for HITMAN 2016 Part 2 The Final Chapter Epilogue Redux Remastered might be necessary to understand full fuck cabin lore.
I also hope IOI realizes a remake of the two mobile Hitman Sniper, but not with so many missions in the same map. A remake like Sniper Challeng or WoA sniper missions, with the two maps of the first game and the three ones of the second game (three included that in Levantine Sea, never published)
Marketing or not, I still proved that it belongs to Ioi, not Square Enix. Being wrong is not the end of the world, but sure, don’t reply because it’s a “ridiculous” conversation.
IOI owns the rights to the IP itself, but the distribution and earnings rights to past games under Square Enix still remains shared with SE. If IOI makes Sniper Challenge available again, they either need to first get those rights back from SE as well, or include them in the earnings. Anyone who buys Absolution now, for instance, is still partly paying SE as well. SC is tied to Absolution, so same rules apply.
That’s just incorrect. When you’re buying an ip, you get previous installments included with it. Ioi bought Hitman and Freedom Fighters from Square Enix, but Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas remained with Square Enix. Look at the Steam pages for older Hitman games, and you’ll see Ioi both as developer and publisher.
I wonder how arguing about the ownership of any parts of the game will help to fulfill the point of this thread, and same, how it’s relevant to it
Unless you’re an ownership rights attorney, you can’t claim to know how it works for any individual agreement between companies over who has the rights and who doesn’t.
Anyway, @Count.Rushmore is right, this isn’t relevant anyways. Regardless of who’s right or why, we don’t have Sniper Challenge and won’t for the foreseeable future. Next subject.
We do have Sniper Challenge, you get it when you buy Absolution on Steam. We don’t have it playable from inside Absolution, because Ioi most likely doesn’t consider doing that worth their time.
And sure, discussing whether Ioi owns the Hitman ip fully or not might not be fully relevant, but since it has been mentioned throughout the topic, I will leave these two Steam links as proof of my statement that Hitman fully belongs to Ioi. Kane & Lynch still belongs to Square Enix, which is reflected on it’s Steam page, while the Absolution page clearly reflects that Ioi owns the game now.