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The series started with 2000's Hitman: Codename 47, and has featured eight main games in total, the most recent being Hitman 3, released January 2021. The games are available for macOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows and multiple consoles, including the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Stadia. IO Interactive completed a management buyout, regaining their independent status and retaining the rights for Hitman, in June 2017.
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IO Interactive remained a subsidiary of Square Enix until 2017, when Square Enix started seeking buyers for the studio. The player journeys to various locations, including a mansion, library, strip club, gun store, wrestling arena, courthouse, and hotel during the story.Hitman is a stealth video game franchise developed by the Danish developer IO Interactive, and previously published by Eidos Interactive and Square Enix.
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Players complete chapters in order to progress through the story. Players may use pistols, bottles or bricks, assault rifles, shotguns, fiber-wire, or steel pipe against enemies if opting for the action-oriented approach, or avoid enemies altogether, not being seen, using disguises, blending into the environment, and only attacking the set target(s), if using the stealth-oriented approach. Players choose how to complete each level, taking branching paths to get to a target or location. Objectives can range from simply reaching the end of the level, to killing specific individuals. Presented from a third-person perspective, the gameplay centers around completing set objectives within a series of levels. Hitman: Absolution is a stealth video game in which the player assumes the role of a hitman named Agent 47.
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