How to start playing Hitman 3 as soon as humanly possible

Before the developer moves on to James Bond, IO Interactive is capping off its new Hitman trilogy with Hitman 3. The game refines the series' well-known stealth and assassination mechanics while also offering remastered versions of levels from previous Hitman games. And it'll be available on every major platform.

The game has already been met with critical acclaim, including from the Inverse review, so you're probably wondering when you can play it. Here's everything we know about the launch of Hitman 3, including its release time, file size, and the necessary day one patch that'll make things even better.

When is the Hitman 3 release time?

Hitman 3 will be released across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Google Stadia, and Nintendo Switch at the same time on January 20, 2021. IO Interactive's specific blog post about launch promises that the game will go live at 13:00 UTC or 8 a.m. Eastern. If you want to know what time the launch will be in your local time zone, IO Interactive created an event for it on timeanddate.com.

While some games go for staggered launches on different platforms, IO Interview is making the release time. "This release time will ensure that the IOI teams in Copenhagen and Malmö are best-placed to ensure a smooth launch," the developer explained in a blog post.

Can I pre-load Hitman 3?

Like most major AAA releases, you can pre-load Hitman 3 and play right at the aforementioned release time. Pre-loads for this game are only going to be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. To pre-load, simply pre-order the game on the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store and select the option to download the game. It will be ready to go at release time.

IO Interactive decided to not do pre-loads on PC, so you'll have to wait for the game to download for a bit after its release time if that's your platform. Meanwhile, the Google Stadia and Nintendo Switch versions of Hitman 3 don't require massive pre-downloads because they are cloud-based ports.

What is the Hitman 3 file size?

According to IO Interactive, the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X versions take anywhere between 60 and 70 GB of space. As they're cloud-based, you don't have to worry about massive file sizes on Stadia or Nintendo Switch.

This download is pretty big and will take a large chunk out of your next-gen harddrive. Thankfully, it also contains the data for Hitman 1 and Hitman 2 levels for those who own the first two games in the series or get the Access Passes for Hitman 1 and Hitman 2.

What are the Hitman 3 PC requirements?

Here are the minimum requirements needed to run Hitman 3.

• CPU: Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz / AMD CPU Phenom II X4 940
• RAM: 8 GB RAM
• HDD: 80GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 / Radeon HD 7870
• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• DirectX: Version 12
• Screen Resolution: 720p or better
• Network: Broadband Internet Connection

For the best experience, however, IO Interactive recommends the following:

• CPU: Intel CPU Core i7 4790 4 GHz
• RAM: 16 GB RAM
• HDD: 80GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 / Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB
• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• DirectX: Version 12
• Screen Resolution: 720p or better
• Network: Broadband Internet Connection

Is there a Hitman 3 day one patch?

Hitman 3 does feature a day one patch and it's required to play, even for those who purchase the game on disc. Apparently, some of the game's locations aren't included on-disc and neither is the VR mode on PS4 and PS5. As Hitman 3 requires players to be online, you'll need to download this update if you want to play the game. It'll be applied automatically to the digital version.

Does progression carry over from Hitman 1 and 2?

If you played Hitman 1 and 2 already, you can carry over that progress within the same platform family. So while you can't bring PS4 data to the Xbox Series X version, your PS4 progress can carry over to the PS5 port of Hitman 3. The game also supports smart delivery, so you can upgrade to the next-gen versions of games for free.

Specifically, this transfer applies to your player profile, XP rank, location mastery levels, location mastery unlocks, challenge progress, challenge unlocks, and Elusive Target unlocks. To transfer this data, you'll need an IOI account and will use a website that isn't live just yet. We'll update this when that website becomes available.

Once that's all carried over tomorrow, you can continue your Hitman adventure in Hitman 3.

Hitman 3 will be released for all major platforms on January 20, 2021