Square Enix has quietly trademarked another title for a possible Hitman game. The new title - Hitman: Sniper Challenge - suggests that they're taking the series in a very different direction.

The name Sniper Challenge, unearthed by Siliconera, sounds like some sort of shooting range simulator. It's a much less ominous title than, say, Hitman: Absolution. Perhaps I'm reading too far into this but I'd guess that this game isn't a "standard," story-driven Hitman game. After all, Agent 47 never felt the need to limit himself to just rifles.

If it's, as I said, a shooting range game then you'd need Kinect or Move support to make it notable. A shooting gallery just wouldn't be much fun with a standard controller. It wouldn't exactly be ground-breaking even with motion support but it sounds like a plausible premise for a game.

Square Enix will be opening a Montreal studio this year. Once created, Square Enix Montreal will start work on a new Hitman. IO Interactive, creators of the series, will collaborate with them on the game once they've finished Absolution.

Square Enix also filed a trademark for Hitman: Profession in late December. It's possible that that it's either a completely different game than Sniper Challenge, or Square is still mulling over potential titles.