During a section of its E3 presentation dedicated to mobile games, developer Square Enix showed off a trailer for the upcoming title set in the Hitman universe. The game, previously thought to be titled Hitman Sniper Assassins, has been officially revealed as Hitman Sniper: The Shadows and will debut later this year.
The game was initially revealed by Square Enix Montreal in March, under the working title Project Hitman Sniper Assassins. The first teaser trailer featured handler Diana Burnwood talking to a new protagonist, "Agent 426," explaining that recurring series lead Agent 47 had disappeared. The new E3 trailer reveals Agent 426 is not a single person, but a group of five assassins code named "The Shadows." The app's name was changed potentially both to reflect the focus on a larger team and to avoid confusion with the "Sniper Assassin" mode that existed in previous Hitman titles.
The five assassins comprising The Shadows are Kiya, Knight, Kolzak, Soji, and Stone. Each will have their own unique skills and abilities, which they will use to investigate and eliminate a new, unnamed threat that arises in the wake of Agent 47's disappearance. Although the game will take place in an alternate universe not canonical to the timeline of the main Hitman series, gameplay will be similar. Players will be assigned contracts to take out targets in a variety of stealthy and creative ways, and the E3 trailer shows off one example with the team breaking a window with a single bullet, causing a target to fall to their doom.
Sniper: The Shadows is only one of several Hitman-related projects currently in the works. Another is the Hitman TV series, which will have a pilot written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad. In a recent interview, Kolstad revealed Agent 47 will begin the series with a full head of hair, and later episodes may reveal the long-discussed origin of his signature bald look.
In the meantime, main series title Hitman 3 continues to see updates in the form of the seven-part Deadly Sins-themed DLC. Currently, Hitman 3 is celebrating the Season of Pride, the second Deadly Sin released following Greed earlier this year. Players can unlock a new suit, gun, melee weapon and high difficulty escalation mission featuring a particularly elusive target. The other Deadly Sins will be released throughout 2021, each one bringing brand new missions, targets, weapons, and more to the game.
Hitman Sniper: The Shadows will release for Android and iOS devices in 2021.