Square Enix has been more than a little cagey about the Hitman release date, ever since pushing the episodic series back from its original Dec. 8 launch, but the publisher says those worried by a new round of cancelled pre-orders shouldn’t assume we’re looking at another Hitman delay just yet.
On Wednesday night, North American PS4 owners began reporting the arrival of a surprising message; a short notification letting PlayStation Store customers know that all current pre-orders of Hitman had been canceled by Sony. The news set off a wave of panic, amongst Hitman fans, as many assumed the cancellation meant we were looking at another lengthy delay for the game’s launch. But it turns out those rushing to judgment might be panicking a bit more than is actually necessary.
“Thank you for pre-ordering Hitman. The publisher has notified us that the configuration of the product you pre-ordered has changed significantly,” Sony told PS4 owners. “As a result we have withdrawn the current pre-order from PlayStation Store and will cancel all pre-orders.”
According to the message, a “revisited pre-order for Hitman” will soon be added to the PlayStation Store, giving fans another opportunity to pre-order ahead of the game’s early 2016 debut. More importantly, Square Enix says the cancellations, along with the recent decision to pull Hitman from the European PlayStation Store, aren’t indicative of a delay. A follow-up tweet on the game’s official Twitter account assured fans that Hitman is still expected to debut on March 11.
“If your HITMAN preorder(sic) is cancelled, don’t panic. Release date is still March 11,” a Square Enix representative wrote. “We’re adjusting a few things & will update in a few days.”
It may be a few days before we know how exactly Square Enix is changing its release plans for Hitman. But at least we don’t have to worry about the upcoming stealth title becoming one of the first AAA games of 2016 to succumb to a lengthy launch delay. Now, if someone could build a time machine and jump us all forward about two months, that would be great.
Hitman is being developed for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The episodic follow-up to Hitman: Absolution is still scheduled to debut on March 11.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for additional Hitman coverage throughout 2016 and for however long Square Enix supports Hitman in the months following launch.
