Hitman's Elusive Targets Delayed, But Dev Has Something To Help Players Wait

IO Interactive and Square Enix are taking a very different route with the 2016 reboot of Hitman, which has been met with very mixed results regarding the episodic approach. But one thing that a lot of people were curious about was the Elusive Targets mode in the game. Unfortunately, the mode has been delayed, but IO has a fix for impatient gamers.

Game Informer slipped up a news piece from a post that was made over on the official IO Interactive website where they revealed that the Elusive Targets mode for Hitman on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC has been delayed.

The Elusive Targets mode will now launch closer to episode two of the Hitman reboot this April. The mode itself sees players having only one opportunity to kill a target in the game under very specific conditions. If you fail then that's it... you don't get a redo, you don't get to try again. You have to do all of your research prior to the mission itself and make sure you have all of the proper equipment so you can take out the target with perfected excellence.

While the episodic structure of Hitman has left many with a sour taste in their mouth, the Elusive Targets mode did have a lot of gamers curious how the mode would actually work. It seems like a dangerous thing to have a mode in a game where the mission can only be played once... ever.

The delay of the mode comes with a replacement, however. The IO post notes that in place of the Elusive Targets they are releasing two new Escalation Contracts for the game this week and that for each week leading up to the Elusive Targets mode they will release two new Escalation Contracts. That's a rather decent compromise if I must say so myself.

One of the Escalation Contracts in Hitman includes having to take down specific targets with a saber, while another Escalation Contract includes using poison and keeping an eye on the cameras.

One of the more surprising updates in the post is that there will be a Vampire Magician Challenge Pack coming soon that offers 10 brand new challenges that players will be able to complete, all while disguised as a vampire magician. The objective of the challenge is to take out all targets wearing the ridiculous costume pictured in the main image above.

All of these challenges and updates are basically hold-me-overs until both the Elusive Targets mode drops and the second Hitman episode becomes available, called Sapienza. It takes place in a fictional Italian countryside. It definitely looks a lot bigger than the Paris map, but we won't know for sure until the map launches.

Surprisingly enough, a lot of people seem to be thoroughly engaged with the Paris map given its size, the contracts available and all of the ridiculous ways in which targets can be taken out. IO Interactive plans on continuing to roll out more episodes throughout the year, available both individually for $14.99 and as part of a bundle for $59.99. The Vampire Magician Challenge and the Escalation Contracts will be available for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.