Square-Enix take their plans for a Hitman Season Pass out the back of the club, and break its neck.
With most, if not all of the big publishers trying to scupper second-hand game sales by adding online passes to their games; it comes as a shock to see one kind publisher buck the trend and remove it from a game.
Hitman: Absolution, which got a solid 8/10 review from Robin, was planned to have an Online Pass in the retail box that granted access to the game’s Contracts mode. But as GameSpot reports, Square-Enix have had a startling change of heart as they’ve removed the need for the Pass.
While the North American retail version will have the Contracts Mode selectable from the game’s main menu, European owners can access the mode by redeeming the code that comes in the box (as per the usual Online Pass process), or select a “Buy Contracts Pass” option that will allow them to download the mode for free, whether the game was new or used.
A ballsy move from Square-Enix, and one I hope that is repeated in future.
Hitman: Absolution will be released on November 20 in Europe and North America for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC