Developer IO Interactive brought its latest Hitman title to Xbox Game Pass back in January, a full year after it initially launched on all major platforms. It's arguably been one of the biggest Game Pass launches of the year so far, and the importance of its addition also seems to be true for the developer itself.
As spotted by industry analyst DarkDetective, Hitman 3 has performed really well for the team; enough to help IO's revenue streams "overperform" in Hitman 3's launch year. However, the Xbox Game Pass deal looks like it might make year 2 even more profitable.
The developer says that the money generated from the Game Pass deal, along with the game's launch on Steam, means fiscal year 2022 projections are "higher than the expectations last year". Basically, if things carry on as they are, IO expects Hitman 3 to be even more profitable in its 2nd year on the market.
This looks like a great deal for the team then, as its upcoming projects like the announced 007 title appear to be a ways off yet - potentially even as late as 2025. The actual numbers surrounding the Xbox Game Pass deal for Hitman 3 haven't been shared, but it's safe to say it was worth it for the developer, and then some!
What do you make of this? Happy to see Game Pass help out development teams? Let us know in the comments.
Comments 13
Glad to see Gamepass worked well for them. More people than normal got to experience the game leading to more potential loyal customers in the future and a higher than anticipated short term revenue increase. Seems like a clear win-win.
I’d encourage anyone to give Hitman 3 a try. I was already a fan of the first two but 3 was fantastic. Even the missus enjoyed watching as Agent 47 dressed up in ludicrous outfits and stalked his pray through a nightclub, or a skyscraper or vineyard
Happy for them! Tho 2025 for 007?! Dang. Hope we get Hitman 4 first, then. Or they could go the Mario Kart 8 route and just do years of DLC.
Speaking of DLC, I would love costumes! Halloween Ends is coming out, where's a Micheal Myers outfit? Stalking Whittleton Creek would be that much more fun.
Happy to see that is working out very well for IO and game developers in general. The reason I love Game Pass, It gives me the opportunity to play fantastic games like this one and also discovering absolute indie gems, and with the option of buying them at a small discount if I decide to do so. Great.
Off topic, didn't Xbox Game Studios announced a project with IO a while back? Something, something project Dragon .
Hitman is probably one of my games of last generation so really happy to see this.
I owned hitman 1 and 2 and it's dlc but never got round to play them till hitman three was released. And It made me a big fan ,the many many ways to kill target really impressed me ,I finished all three and if they release another it's a day one game pass or not
Some positive news. And hitman 3 didn’t hit gamepass day 1 did it? I wonder if that made a difference
I’d be interested to know what effects PlayStations subscription services have on games sales too…surprised to learn today that Deathloop is coming to extra - which is pretty crazy as you would have thought Sonys exclusivity be over by now…so would be even more crazy if MS gave the go ahead for them to put it on extra…when it’s not even on gamepass, and Xbox have offered nothing from their studios yet this year…
Wonder how many people just played Hitman on game pass since it wasn't an 8 bit NES quality level game as such vast majority of game pass offerings are?
I hate the developer because I had problems upgrading and they never reply. You have to guess and be lucky and their FAQs don't cover every issue.
The last Hitman I played was the PS3 one. Need to check how the chronology works.
@ChopperCampbell I did. I gave it a dam good go. Once in a while though there are games which are just way too difficult for me. Hitman 3 is one of them - I just keep getting spotted / busted / beaten up, etc.
(The Ascent is another.)
But it’s not sustainable!!! 🙃
Good for them. Glad to see them get success
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