Hitman 3, out today for pretty much all of the platforms, sees Agent 47 continue his spree of heinous crimes, including murder and travel journalism. Like the previous entry in IO Interactive’s sumptuous Savile Row simulator, you can import levels and character progression from prior games. It’s only a matter of knowing what to do—and what not to do.
What are the ground rules?
First, you’ll need an IOI Account. If you don’t have one already, you can create a new one here. Don’t worry. It’s free.
You can only carry progression within the same console family. If you played Hitman 2 on PS4, for instance, you won’t be able to port your data to an Xbox One or PC copy of Hitman 3. Intergenerational leaps are fair game, though, so you can bring Hitman 2 PS4 data to a PS5 copy of Hitman 3. (IO Interactive offers a next-gen upgrade for Hitman 3 at no extra cost.)
You also can’t decide which aspects of your character you want to port. It’s, per IO, an “all or nothing” deal. Here’s what comes along for the ride:
- Player profile
- XP rank
- Location mastery levels
- Location mastery unlocks
- Challenge progress
- Challenge unlocks
- Elusive Target suits and unlocks
The transfer is a one-time process, too. Doing so will wipe any progress you’ve made in Hitman 3, so it’s best to get squared away before you start playing. The process won’t, however, delete your data from Hitman 2, but you won’t have synchronicity between Hitman 2 and Hitman 3. Any progress you make on Hitman 2 levels in Hitman 3 won’t affect your Hitman 2 game, and vice versa.
Once you’re cool with everything, hit up IO’s dedicated carryover site to copy your data. At the moment, the site is experiencing some turbulence. In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, IO Interactive stressed patience and said that transfer requests are currently being processed, even if you encounter a failure notification.
On PC, IO says you’ll need to boot up Hitman or Hitman 3 to successfully initiate a transfer. (Hitman 2 is not currently available on the Epic Games Store.) There’s no way to carry data from Hitman 2 to 3 on the Nintendo Switch since the second entry isn’t playable on the Switch.
How do I get Agent 47 to Marrakesh or Paris in Hitman 3?
Levels from Hitman and Hitman 2 are available as pieces of downloadable content called Access Packs. On consoles, if you own digital versions of either game, you’ll be able to access these via the Store tab in the main menu, where they should be listed as “free.” (Trying to track down the Access Packs via each console’s proprietary storefront may show them listed as full price.) The first Hitman is available only as the Game of the Year edition—which bundles all of the additional content for that game in one package—while Hitman 2 is available in three options: the standard edition, the expansion pass, or the catch-all gold edition.
The process is more complicated if you own those prior games on disc. Owners of Hitman will first need to port levels into Hitman 2, via the Hitman Legacy Pack. (That process is detailed here.) After that’s settled, you should see the Hitman: Game of the Year Access Pack pop up in the Hitman 3 store.
On Xbox, you’ll need to own either Hitman 3 or Hitman 2 - Starter Pack—a free one-off, the Hawke’s Bay mission—to get the Hitman 2 standard edition Access Pack to show up in Hitman 3. Owners of Hitman 2’s gold edition should have received a boxed-in scrap of paper with a code for the expansion pass. Hope you didn’t toss it before redeeming!
PC players are, for the time being, SOL—kinda. If you’ve purchased Hitman 3 on the Epic Games Store—where it’s currently a timed exclusive—or plan to purchase it within 10 days of launch, you’ll get the first game’s Access Pack at no extra cost. Hitman 2 is another story. IO Interactive is currently working on a fix that will allow existing players to transfer levels and progress. Right now, the Gold edition Access Pack is available at an 80 percent markdown, but that price expires on February 3.
Okay, cool. How do I get me to Marrakesh or Paris IRL?
Let’s have that conversation once the governments of the world start taking this pandemic seriously and work on rolling back international travel restrictions, so…. 2024? 2025?