Hitman 3

Hitman 3 is a 2021 stealth game developed and published by IO Interactive. It is the eighth main installment in the Hitman video game series, the sequel to 2018's Hitman 2, and the third game in the World of Assassination trilogy. Concluding the story arc started in 2016's Hitman, the game follows genetically engineered assassin Agent 47 and his allies as they hunt down the leaders of the secretive organization Providence, which controls global affairs and was partially responsible for 47's creation and upbringing. Like its two predecessors, the game is structured around six levels, five of which are large sandbox locations that players can freely explore to find opportunities to eliminate their targets.

The base game features six locations: Dubai, Dartmoor, Berlin, Chongqing, Mendoza, and the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. A post-launch update introduced a new fictional island location set in the Andaman Sea. IO Interactive wanted the game to be more story-driven. As a result, Hitman 3 has a more mature and serious tone. The team was more willing to experiment with its mission design, shaking up the existing gameplay loop and realizing ideas that they had been unable or afraid to implement in the past, such as framing assassination opportunities within a murder-mystery in the Dartmoor level. While gameplay is largely similar to its predecessor, developers were inspired by immersive sim games, adding many elements from the genre such as an emphasis on engaging with the world for intel, branching level stories with multiple possible outcomes, and prevalent opportunities to make use of the environment's emergent gameplay.

Hitman 3, the first game to be self-published by IO Interactive after becoming an independent studio, was first released worldwide for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch (via cloud gaming) in January 2021. It received positive reviews, with praise for its level design and atmosphere, stealth mechanics, and 47's abilities. Some critics called it the best entry in the series; the game has been called one of the greatest stealth games of all time. Hitman 3 was the series' most commercially successful title, and has been extensively supported by IO with several releases of downloadable content and free updates. In January 2023, IO rebranded Hitman 3 as Hitman: World of Assassination, shifting the game into a live-service format with the contents of the previous two Hitman games becoming available to Hitman 3 owners for free. Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded, a standalone edition of the game's VR mode, was released for Meta Quest 3 by XR Games in September 2024.