IO Interactive has considered making a co-op Hitman but feels this would detract from the franchise's lone wolf ethos, according to Hitman: Absolution game director Tore Blystad.
"Of course we have been discussing co-op for many Hitman games but it never felt right," Blystad confessed to OXM in a recent interview, extracts from which you'll find in issue 81, on sale now. "Agent 47 is a loner and we have never found a way to give him a partner, because to be honest, he doesn't need one."
IO has crafted intensely dynamic levels for Absolution players, each stuffed with variables. It's easy to see how the presence of a second player might scupper things.
Players will call on a new Instincts vision mode to navigate that world, performing stealthy actions like silently disposing of bodies to refill the gauge. IO says this won't "dumb down" Hitman.
Publisher Square Enix trademarked a new Hitman game yesterday, Hitman: Profession. The company recently formed a new studio in Montreal to work on "premium quality" Hitman titles. Deus Ex: Human Revolution outfit Eidos Montreal is also working on the series.
Read more about Absolution in issue 81. You can but it from the Apple Newsstand, download it from Zinio or order a copy online with free delivery.
Here's 16 minutes of Hitman: Absolution gameplay footage.